Ban the Dollar Store? DeKalb County passed a 45-day moratorium on new dollar stores (Sandy Springs: neighborhoods, buy)

[bu2]

Pawn shops are different. They are basically buyers for stolen merchandise and encourage criminals.

What's so wrong about a dollar store?

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by bu2

I still have yet to hear one of you say why they are bad for the community. Just that you don't like them.

Maybe you don't want those sorts of customers in your neighborhood?

Those stores wouldn't be there if those sorts of customers didn't already live there. These are not the types of stores people drive 50 miles to get to.

See below:

Originally Posted by citidata18

The Planet Money program on NPR had an episode on this exact issue and the negative consequences of having so many in a community.

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2...res-vs-lettuce

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by bu2

Pawn shops are different. They are basically buyers for stolen merchandise and encourage criminals.

What's so wrong about a dollar store?

See above.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by citidata18

*Great Customer Service

*High Quality Products

*Wide Selection of Healthy Food

*Extremely Eco-Friendly

To add (RE: Trader Joe's), just having one nearby does wonders for property values (which means more revenue for schools / roads / parks) and attracting other high quality economic investment.

Other upscale stores love to cluster around places like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods for the simple fact that they attract people with a ton of disposable income. Corporate employers also seek out communities with these types of stores when relocating/expanding because their highly-paid salaried employees demand them.

[oceangaia]

Originally Posted by aries4118

See above.

I'm not going to "listen". Someone can put the details in print. Sounds like it may be a sob story by cloal owners who couldn't compete. And the short print intro even said they are going into areas other businesses won't go so it isn't a matter of having a dollar store or a Target, but a matter of having a dollar store or no store at all.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by oceangaia

I'm not going to "listen". Someone can put the details in print...

Ha! Ok, then...

[jeoff]

Originally Posted by oceangaia

I'm not going to "listen". Someone can put the details in print. Sounds like it may be a sob story by cloal owners who couldn't compete. And the short print intro even said they are going into areas other businesses won't go so it isn't a matter of having a dollar store or a Target, but a matter of having a dollar store or no store at all.

From the story:
1) Dollar stores are able to sell many of grocery stores higher profit items for less than grocery stores can.
2) Dollar stores require fewer workers than grocery stores, so they cost less to run, so there can be a lot more of them in an area, and still be profitable.
So, areas that can ideally barely support a single grocery store end up having none, because the grocery store is no longer profitable.
For the community that was the center of the story, by essentially legislating that no more than 11 dollar stores could exist in the district (plus other incentives) they were able to convince a grocery chain to move to the area.

[oceangaia]

Originally Posted by jeoff

From the story:
1) Dollar stores are able to sell many of grocery stores higher profit items for less than grocery stores can.
2) Dollar stores require fewer workers than grocery stores, so they cost less to run, so there can be a lot more of them in an area, and still be profitable.
So, areas that can ideally barely support a single grocery store end up having none, because the grocery store is no longer profitable.
For the community that was the center of the story, by essentially legislating that no more than 11 dollar stores could exist in the district (plus other incentives) they were able to convince a grocery chain to move to the area.

In other words, the grocer cannot compete without legislative protections?

[sheerbliss]

And customers have to pay higher prices for some items.

Originally Posted by jeoff

From the story:
1) Dollar stores are able to sell many of grocery stores higher profit items for less than grocery stores can.

[jeoff]

Originally Posted by oceangaia

In other words, the grocer cannot compete without legislative protections?

In the NPR story, the community has no grocery stores and 11 dollar stores. Grocery stores are not begging to come into the community, the community is trying to figure out what it would take to get a grocery store there. Some places work to get a Kia plant, others work to get fresh vegetables (or keep them).