Dollar Tree Has Tried A Controversial New Tactic And It Is Working…

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Despite a difficult socioeconomic situation, Dollar Tree appears to be doing well a year after announcing a contentious decision to raise prices to $1.25.

Even while share prices plummeted 11% after the first announcement of the pivot, the company’s first price increase in over four decades coincided with high inflation and allowed Dollar Tree, which also owns the discount store brand Family Dollar, to expand its product choices. In comparison to the same time last year, the company’s diluted earnings per share climbed by 25%, according to its financial report for the third fiscal quarter.

CEO of Dollar Tree Mike Witynski made a comment, “Our third quarter sales performance reflects the timely execution of merchandising initiatives to drive our consumables business in this uncertain and inflationary environment. Same-store sales for both segments improved from the prior quarter and delivered a sequential monthly improvement throughout the quarter. Shoppers are responding to our new value proposition at Family Dollar and Dollar Tree as we focus on driving both traffic and store productivity.”

For the year, Dollar Tree intends to raise sales outlooks. Since the start of the year, Dollar Tree shares have increased more than 7%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 have fallen 6% and 16%, respectively.

“The efforts to evolve the assortment to drive consumables performance at Dollar Tree, combined with initiatives designed to improve the value proposition at Family Dollar, are working. We believe we will continue to be part of the solution to millions of households seeking value at a time when they need us most,” Witynski continued.

Discount store customers typically come from lower-income households. Such households are more affected by inflation than wealthy households because they often devote a larger percentage of their monthly income to essential living expenses.

According to a survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, price levels increased 7.7% over the previous year as of last month. The holiday season will be particularly affected by elevated inflation because, in the data from the National Retail Federation, retail sales during this crucial time for American retailers are predicted to increase by 6% to 8% from the previous year and possibly surpass $960 billion. This means that nominally higher sales will be largely overshadowed by rising price levels.

While Americans are predicted to spend 6% more, German and French shoppers will spend 15% less, while their counterparts in Australia and the United Kingdom will spend 18% less.  Americans are among the only developed-country citizens who plan to increase their spending on Black Friday. As stated in a recent Boston Consulting Group study.

Figures from the Federal Reserve as of two months ago, the total level of consumer loans increased from $1.5 trillion at the beginning of last year to $1.8 trillion.  Meanwhile, the personal savings rate has fallen from 20% to slightly more than 3% over the same time period, –indicating a significant drop from pre-lockdown rates, in a  Bureau of Economic Analysis data. Many American households have been spending beyond their means in the face of rising inflation.

Sources: Dailywire, progressivegrocer, storebrands

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