Small Town America vs. Big Box Stores

Summary

Yet over the last five years, Dollar General has opened over 3,500 new locations, including more than 100 in New York, nearly 200 in Ohio, and 300 in Texas. This expansion has brought the total number of Dollar General stores to over 18,000, solidifying its position as the largest retailer in the U.S. by store count. Looking ahead, the company plans to further grow its network, aiming for more than 51,000 outlets in the coming years.Some argue that the rapid expansion is simply the chain fulfilling fast-growing demand. When Dollar General first arrives and shoppers choose it over the homegrown alternative, this is no different than the market expressing its preferences. As the saying goes: “evolve or die.” That’s what one hardware store in New Orleans, Louisiana did to remain competitive with the growing number of big box retailers in the vicinity. “We feed off of what they don’t do, they can’t do,” the owner of Mike’s Hardware & Supply explained. Part of that looks like emphasizing his longtime staff’s expertise. Another part of it is simply providing goods you can’t find anywhere else. “We don’t sell barbecue pits or lawn mowers, but we have a lot of hard-to-find specialty items, especially in plumbing, that they don’t have,” the owner added. “We’ve evolved to our niche.”While Mike's Hardware has successfully carved out a space amidst larger-than-life competitors, the real problem with the competition between Dollar General and mom-and-pop stores is that the playing field isn't level. Few will be as lucky as Mike’s.In fact, a key driver behind the rise of big-box retailers is the extensive government support they receive, including subsidies and billions of dollars to fund their expansion, says Stacey Mitchell, co-director of the ILSR. In an episode of the Strong Towns podcast, she explains how companies like Walmart or Target convince local officials that they’re bringing jobs and financial benefits to the area often in exchange for tax breaks and subsidies to co...