Dollar General - just a thought

[1-Old-Man]

The "dollar stores" are becoming more and more common. They are the discount stores, mostly modeled on Drug Stores, that have as their main claim to fame that they are even less expensive than Wal-Mart.

I am laying in a Hospital room taking on a 3-day long Chemo session, my seventh. I have the TV on in the room and the Speed Channel, which follows motor-sports, is on - volume off. They have a NASCAR race on, something that is no interest to me what so ever but I did take notice that the only car in the background of the garage shot I saw was sponsored by "Dollar General". If you can't afford Wal-Mart this is the store for you.

After seeing that I Googled the cost of operation of a NASCAR team for one car. It runs, according to the article I read, about $5 Million dollars a year to field a team/car. And every one of those dollars came from people who can not afford to shop at Wal-Mart.

[OneGrassRoot]

1. Wishing you wellness, 1-Old-Man...

Sending big hugs as you undergo your current course of therapy.



To me, NASCAR is a huge waste of many resources. It's a shame Dollar General contributes to this particular unnecessary waste.

I know others like NASCAR but I admittedly just don't get it.

[FSogol]

5. I'll second the well wishes. I also am not a fan of Nascar,

but in their defense, many people enjoy it and it creates a lot of jobs.

I put NASCAR above businesses like check cashing operations, weapons manufacturing, fake charities, crappy chain restaurants, etc.

In Dollar General's defense, they might only be a partial sponsor who with a collection of other businesses, paid the $5 mill. I'm sure they consider it excellent advertising.

[JustAnotherGen]

2. Interesting and truthful observation

And many good wishes to you in your fight. Take care of you!

[sadbear]

3. Wal-Mart can buy the whole of NASCAR several times over.

Do you see how many people go to NASCAR races and watch them on TV? $5 million is a good deal for that kind of exposure.

[handmade34]

4. ...

from Forbes

"...Last month, rival Dollar General (DG) announced that profits for the third quarter increased to to $207.7 million, or 62 cents per share, versus $171.2 million, or 50 cents, a year earlier. Earnings were 63 cents per share, excluding certain items, beating the analyst estimates of 60 cents..."

what irony... the poor person's Walmart

[madrchsod]

9. the dg i go to has...

bmws, cadillacs, and other high priced cars and trucks mixed in with the beaters... hell one of the employees has a 2010 cadillac.

[upaloopa]

6. It's advertising. All the NASCAR fans who can't afford

Walmart see that car and head for the Dollar store. The execs make a lot of money too. Just the customers and employees don't live the good life.
By the way, the racing is advertising expense so it is tax deductible.

[MADem]

7. I don't like NASCAR either.

I'd probably like it better if all the cars ran on solar power, and the trick was to see who could get around the track fastest and the most in a set amount of time without using any fossil fuels!

Those cars also get money from the TV rights, advertising, and the gate at their events. I dunno if the whole five million is being funded by the Dollar Store....it could be a peel-off decal, and next week Burger King will enjoy pride of place!

I found a little blurb about this that might be instructive:

That's right -- being a primary sponsor of a team costs $350,000 to $500,000 per race, although corporations can usually cut a deal to sponsor a team for a full season. That means the sponsor gets to choose the paint scheme of the car, put the logo all over it, and use the driver's likeness in advertising for the product or service they want to promote. It is possible to be the primary sponsor for just one race, and for your half a million-dollar investment, the car will change its appearance for just that one venue.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/auto-racing/nascar/nascar-basics/nascar-sponsorship.htm

Who knows? They may have gotten the exposure "on the cheap!"

[madrchsod]

8. i stop at the local dollar general everyday

it`s 6 blocks down the street and the people who run the store are great. the stuff i buy i can get other places but i choose not to. the pricing is`t that much different than walmart.

[dembotoz]

10. nascar reaches a bunch of folks dollar general wants to reach

must pay off for them

[SheilaT]

11. There was a lengthy thread about the various dollar stores

here recently.

I never could figure out how the dollar stores can sell so cheaply, even more cheaply than WalMart unless they are also getting their stuff from overseas vendors who are using slave labor.

[1-Old-Man]

12. There are other models that seem to work equally well

I live in a very poor area of the country, the cheap-O stores are all over the place hereabouts. I have heard many speculate that they simply "water down" their products, but I doubt that would be cost effective for things other than liquid soaps and even there I doubt that is how they do it. I have little doubt that they buy up excess production from any source at fire-sale prices. There are also companies, 84 Lumber being one, that use this and buying up freight damaged product (tractor trailer accident stuff sold off by insurance companies) which is also a cheap source of product.

[Blue Diadem]

13. They list 19 sponsors for their racing & they also run a literacy program

http://www2.dollargeneral.com/DG-Racing/pages/Index.aspx

Was surprised to see a literacy program on their website too.

I'm not really sure why people are against these smaller stores. They're locating a lot of these stores in small communities in rural areas. They carry name brands at reasonable prices and it really saves money, gas & time for those of us who live double digit miles away from larger shopping areas. They're also convenient for those of us who have a hard time walking the long distance across a huge parking lot and then through a big box store just to pick up a few items. ie: I calculated 3 hrs time & $18 in gas saved for 3 trips to the local Dollar General vs driving to the closest big box stores.

Saying a prayer that the chemo does what its supposed to do. Good luck to you!

[quaker bill]

14. I actually don't think that is where it comes from at all

I think it comes from selling turn key "Dollar General" franchises. From what I have seen on the construction permitting end, these stores are turned over to the franchise holder before opening day very religiously, like no other business I have ever seen. I fully expect a large number of them will be bankrupt within 2 or 3 years tops. I don't think they are selling goods, they are selling stores. Wal-Mart keeps their stores, all of them.

I think the whole thing is little different than a pyramid marketing scheme, except that there is only one level. The dollar general model is that they do the whole thing, from finding the franchisee, the land, pulling the permits, likely helping secure the loans, constructing the building and outfitting stocking the shelves. This is all done on the original bank note before the first sale is ever made. On opening day, you are officially on your own, and they have literally all the cash from the mortgage you are now carrying. They aren't worried on making a nickle from Pez dispensers, because that is not where the money is. The money is in selling you the "american dream" of owning your own business.

[cherokeeprogressive]

15. That's not quite how it works...

Dollar General simply buys advertising space on a team's car. They don't fund the whole operation. Actually, their stake in it is quite small comparative to what it costs to field the team for an entire season.

[TheMightyFavog]

16. Aren't dollar stores the five-and-dime of our generation?

[WinkyDink]

17. China-made goods are as good there as anywhere.

[Demo_Chris]

18. When I worked for Coke I used to deliver to several different dollar store types

They were getting the exact same product as anyone else.

For whatever that's worth

[madokie]

19. And they sell worse junk than walmart, if thats possible

We the people are taking the shaft every turn we take

[KurtNYC]

20. I don't get it. Is Dollar General not supposed to advertise?

The stuff about 'people who can't afford Wal-Mart" is just hype. DG is no cheaper than WalMart and they are not a true dollar store as their prices are from one penny to $60 or so.

They employ 90,000 Americans.