As consumers who once shopped in Walmart or Target switch to value retailers, Richard Gottlieb looks at the planned growth of US value stores.

Richard is the founder and CEO of Global Toy Experts, a consultancy to US and international toy companies. He is also the publisher of Global Toy News, a web-based magazine founded in 2009 that covers toy industry news and provides resources to the toy industry. Richard co-hosts The Playground Podcast and publishes The Toy Intelligencer report. Here, he shares one of his latest columns with Toy World readers:

If investing in new locations is an indicator of success, then Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Five Below are defying the economic angst that is so prevalent lately and growing.

I have always found these retailers fascinating because they target the shoppers most retailers ignore, households making less than $40,000 a year.

Due to inflation and challenging economic conditions for many, consumers who once shopped in Walmart or Target are dropping down to the value retailers so their money can go further. In addition, the buyers for these retailers focus on products and retails that their customers need. Add in the cleanliness of the stores and ease of getting in and out, and you have a highly functioning retail concept.

I have always held that the demise of Kmart (are they dead yet?) resulted not from competition from Walmart but from Dollar General and Family Dollar.

Planned growth in 2023 for Five Below, Dollar General and Dollar Tree will result in their combined retail estate being a considerably higher number of stores than Walmart.

Read Richard’s full article here.