Will Minnesotans Lose Their Discount Stores?

Only a small percentage of people in America over the last few years have not felt the pinch of things costing more. As I’ve stated in prior articles, that’s not a political statement, it’s just a fact.  

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And unless you’re in that small percentage of people who are very wealthy, you’ve probably already had to alter where you shop or what you buy.  

You may have even been among the many people who have started doing at least some of their shopping at discount stores like Family Dollar or Dollar Tree.  

News came out this week, Family Dollar will be closing over 1,000 stores around the country in the next few years. There are forty-seven Family Dollar stores around Minnesota.  

The company has not released the schedule of when stores will start closing and or the stores that will be closed because the stores that will be closed are ones who have expiring leases. 

Family Dollar is owned by peer discount store, Dollar Tree, who says they’ll be closing 30 stores of their 8,400 locations as those chosen stores leases expire.  

So, if you shop at a location that is affected by a closure, where will you go for the items you count on those stores to carry? Will you drive to a neighboring town if their store remains open?  

Will stores like Gopher Bargain Center in St. Cloud become a destination folks will search for what they would normally buy from Dollar Tree or Family Dollar?  Or will Dollar General be the primary store of choice?

This is not meant to be offensive for anyone who works for these stores, but anyone who has shopped at some of the Family Dollar/Dollar Tree stores, it’s no surprise they would be in danger of closing.  

It seems there’s not been a good management structure in place above the local store level. To prove that point even more, Family Dollar has been fined over 40 million dollars for a rat infestation in a warehouse that forced many stores to be closed for a short period of time.  

Another battle that these discount stores are fighting is that the SNAP Program (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) has cut the money available to lower income families by around $250.  

These closures are likely a big hit for some communities and may force some of these families to make difficult decisions on where they shop.