Dollar General Hits a Gold Mine in Rural America

Re:Dollar General Hits a Gold Mine in Rural America by deadmetheny on Wednesday October 18, 2017 @12:54PM (#15500733)

Another strength is that the stores just simply aren't that big. I've been to Wal-Marts in rural parts of the lower Midwest that are simply too huge for the population density. Somehow they manage to stay open, but I am never entirely sure how. DG, on the other hand, tends to be half to a third of the size and does very well on the basis that they pretty much only sell stuff that people are actually gonna need on a regular basis. Combine that with the logistics you mentioned, and it's bound to be able to at least sustain itself.

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Re:Dollar General Hits a Gold Mine in Rural America by kevinmchugh on Wednesday October 18, 2017 @04:31PM (#15502715)

Wal-Mart has tended to understaff its stores. Results are dirtier, messier, more crime-friendly stores. They've off-loaded their security/loss prevention expenses on to local police departments: https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-walmart-crime/

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Re:Dollar General Hits a Gold Mine in Rural America by eberkund on Wednesday October 18, 2017 @01:07PM (#15500855)

I guess since the land is cheap and they built the building they operate out the operating cost isn't much higher like it would be were they renting space in a developed urban area. Plus it is like they are investing in the real estate as I've seen a few small towns grow a lot in population after Walmart moved in.

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Re:Dollar General Hits a Gold Mine in Rural America by throwawayjava on Wednesday October 18, 2017 @01:09PM (#15500866)

Enormous TIF subsidies, mostly.

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Re:Dollar General Hits a Gold Mine in Rural America by jessaustin on Wednesday October 18, 2017 @05:13PM (#15503166)

TIFs are so evil. I avoid stores so sited (and their ~25% "tax") when I can, but their very existence harms the credit of every county and most municipalities I know. They don't even perform their supposed role of restoring "depressed" areas, because a third of them are out in the country and another third just replace one profitable business with another (with a ~3 year interim of nothing at all on the site while the lawyers and lobbyists do their evil shit). The whole phenomenon is just a scheme for zoning boards etc. to enjoy corruption.

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Re:Dollar General Hits a Gold Mine in Rural America by knz on Wednesday October 18, 2017 @05:23PM (#15503267)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_increment_financing for those who are not familiar with TIF.

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Re:Dollar General Hits a Gold Mine in Rural America by taurath on Wednesday October 18, 2017 @01:19PM (#15500963)

Its the last vestige of industry in small town america, it seems. Wonder what happens when it, too, goes away.

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