topic Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite in Community Chat

Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

SeaMaiden — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 21:02:25 GMT

The Associated Press

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — Dollar Tree embedded in its very name what it stands for: Behind these doors, everything can be had for just $1.

The mantra to which the Chesapeake, Virginia, company has held true for decades will now be only mostly true.

After expanding nationwide from only a handful of stores in Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia, Dollar Tree is breaking the mold and will sell items in some locations that exceed the tantalizing $1 grab-n-go price.

The cost of clothes, cars, food and just about everything else has soared this year as the global economy emerges from a pandemic uppercut and Dollar Tree has not been untouched.

Last month the retail chain said that rising shipping costs would take a bite of $1.50 to $1.60 out of its per-share profits this year. That’s a huge hit for any business, perhaps more so for one founded decades ago steadfastly calling itself “Only $1.00 Inc.”

“For decades, our customers have enjoyed the ‘thrill-of-the-hunt’ for value at one dollar – and we remain committed to that core proposition – but many are telling us that they also want a broader product assortment when they come to shop,” said CEO

Raising some prices will certainly give the national chain some flexibility and likely more variety on its shelves. But a dollar this year will not buy you what it did in 2020.

Annual inflation in the U.S. reached 4.2% in July, the highest in three decades. And this week in an appearance before Congress, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that price increases have worsened amid snarled supply chains and rising labor costs.

That has hit businesses of every type, perhaps especially one that has held the line at $1 for decades.

Witynski said this week that Dollar Tree is a “test-and-learn” company, and they’ll be watching how customers react.

The company had already begun testing higher prices at several hundred of its nearly 8,000 locations in a section of the store called “Dollar Tree Plus” with items that can go for as much as $5. Items that can go for $1.25 to $1.50 will soon be found in the mix at some locations amid the typical assortment of $1 products.

Analysts with J.P. Morgan noted past conversations with Dollar Tree executives who cited a significant sales boost at stores offering a Plus section and if no one else is cheering the shift to the top side of $1 at Dollar Tree, Wall Street

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

Kachina624 — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 21:08:12 GMT

@SeaMaiden OH no, what is our economy coming to when Dollar Tree starts selling things for over a buck? This doesn't bode well for us cheapskates. This will blow my Christmas budget.

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

Desertdi — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 21:18:00 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@SeaMaiden OH no, what is our economy coming to when Dollar Tree starts selling things for over a buck? This doesn't bode well for us cheapskates. This will blow my Christmas budget.

@Kachina624 !

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

Kachina624 — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 21:25:48 GMT

@Desertdi Actually I've only been in a dollar store once..... circled the perimeter of the room and walked right out the door.

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

Desertdi — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 21:34:48 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@Desertdi Actually I've only been in a dollar store once..... circled the perimeter of the room and walked right out the door.

@Kachina624 Mine is the only place around that sells candle lighters, but I haven't been there since Covid.....and my Christmas List is VERY short...(just a card for Santa) di

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

Duckncover — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 21:39:49 GMT

Dollar Tree is the only "dollar store" I ever shop. Last week they had

Gold Toe socks 2 pks in tons of colors and styles for both men and women. I stocked up for my homeless packs we do each Christmas since socks are the #1 request from homeless when they go to a shelter. Dollar Tree has great seasonal things especially at Christmas and many times namebrand things, like the socks, that are there because the label or container may be changing for a product. I bought Cheerios with strawberries there, big box, and went back for more but they were sold out. Dollar Tree is worth a look from time to time. I don't ever go in the other dollar stores. They are dirty and sell junk, in my experience. I guess inflation has hit everyone now.

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

Kachina624 — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 21:40:34 GMT

@Desertdi Me too. I send my grandsons Amazon gift cards. One is in the Navy in Japan so he can easily retrieve it online. That's the extent of my gift shopping.

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

Desertdi — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 21:48:19 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@Desertdi Me too. I send my grandsons Amazon gift cards. One is in the Navy in Japan so he can easily retrieve it online. That's the extent of my gift shopping.

@Kachina624 My family (thankfully) had a Rule: "Gifts" end at age 18. Saved a lot of shopping grief.

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

Porcelain — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 22:14:45 GMT

Sounds like a bad idea for their brand.

Edited to add: You'd think someone at the company might have forseen something like this happening at some point in the future, when they came up with the name. Someone probably brought it up at a meeting and was told, "pipe down. that'll never happen."

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

Kachina624 — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 21:53:23 GMT

@Desertdi Good rule. I've been trying to think of a way to end it with grandsons. We're not close and I never hear from them. It's stupid to keep sending gift cards when they both have jobs.

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

Duckncover — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 22:08:01 GMT

I read once that their cost per item had to be no more than 55 cents in order to sell at $1 and still make a profit. Am assuming staying at 55 cents is almost impossible in most cases now.

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

Desertdi — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 22:09:12 GMT

@Kachina624 I am also grateful I am retired. That office gift-giving was brutal. I was the only ONE on the night shift....barely recognized the other 20 on the day shifts.....but I was "expected" to participate. What a racket!

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

icezeus — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 22:15:28 GMT

I like Dollar Tree for Birthday cards. I normally pick up 2 cards for $1.00. Other than that I have no use for them.

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

occasionalrain — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 23:00:05 GMT

I had never been in Dollar Tree until the cable guy who came to my house had a stylus I admired and was told it was from Dollar Tree.

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

MamaWick — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 23:05:41 GMT

Oh.....the end of an era.🤪

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

Sweetbay magnolia — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 23:13:32 GMT

We've gotten hangers there over the years, and the last time DH went for some, the pack was down by 1/2.

Bound to happen, I guess.

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

occasionalrain — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 23:37:30 GMT

I've noticed the Tree has some items in smaller packages that Big Lots and other discount stores haven't. My Tree is always busy with people buying artificial flowers, helium balloons, and, I've noticed seniors buying the food items in the smaller containers. I hope they continue keeping everything a dollar. It sets them apart from every other store.

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

QVCalm — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 00:09:47 GMT

Yeah....I'm already 'mourning' the Holidays without any family connection whatsoever.
Gifts that were well thought-out, checks, cash LOVE or any spot of communication has never once been acknowledged/appreciated. Sorry to be off-topic.....I do like The Family Dollar for casual shopping and surprising 'finds'

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

Duckncover — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 00:20:28 GMT

They also sell a line of Hallmark cards for $1 each.

Re: Dollar Tree breaks the $1 barrier as costs take a bite

lmt — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 00:23:28 GMT

Of all the 'dollar' stores, we like Dollar Tree the best.

You can get some great bargains there. Cards, wrapping paper, gift bags, etc. DH buys some king of spray cleaner for the car tires. I buy lots of crossword puzzles, find a word books, etc. I also stock up on pens, a pack of 10 for a buck - the pens aren't fancy, but they last a long time.