Thursday, June 8, 2017
This past week online retailer Amazon closed above $1000 a share for the first time in its history as Americans more and more become accustomed to the convenience of shopping at home and having a package show up at their door two days later. More than a few people have described the experience as a "Christmas every day" phenomenon where boxes filled with items they had forgotten they had ordered appear on their doorsteps day after day. Amidst this new shopping experience, brick-and-mortar store chains by the dozens have sunk into bankruptcy as consumers no longer walk their aisles.
But from the wreckage of retail, one firm has emerged by managing to grow, not shrink, and prosper, not wilt: Dollar General. Dollar General has not only survived, but is also seeing amazing growth. According to Bank of America data, of the nearly 7,800 net new stores opened since 2008, a whopping 76%, or 5,936 were Dollar General stores! Catering to the non-glamorous low end of retail has been exactly the right thing to do.