These are tough times for two big US dollar store chains. In the past month, Family Dollar said it will close nearly 1,000 stores and 99 Cents Only said it will go out of business.
Both companies said inflation and shoplifting have contributed to their troubles. While inflation has pressured the companies’ low-income customer base and shoplifting has squeezed their profits, those factors alone can’t explain their difficulties.
Years of strategic mistakes and underinvestment have plagued Family Dollar and 99 Cents Only, retail analysts say. Both brands were acquired by other companies and faltered under their new owners.
Of course people shoplift more. I went in to buy one item at a dollar store recently. Huge backed up line that took me 10 minutes to the front of because there are only self checkouts now, and half of them are down.
You don’t want shoplifters? Hire humans.
But hiring humans is tantamount to shoplifting in their eyes.
It sounds like they should just fix their self-checkout lanes or invest in better ones.