Editing Variety store (section)

==Economics==
===Pricing and margins===
Some items are offered at a considerable discount over other retailers, whereas others are at the same price point. There are two ways variety stores make a profit:
* Buying and selling vast amounts of goods at heavily discounted prices provides a small [[profit margin]] multiplied by the sales volume.
* Pricing many items at prices that are higher than regular retailers. These goods are commonly bought by consumers who perceive them to be bargains based on the heavy discounts on other items in the store. In the case of fixed price-point retailers, this can be achieved by reducing the package size.<ref name="telegraph1"/><ref name="yahoo">{{cite news|url=http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/-1-stores-cost-yahoofinanceuk-1810927014.html|title=£1 stores can cost you more|work=[[Yahoo Finance]]|first=Amanda|last=Hall-Davis|date=21 April 2011|access-date=8 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415020155/http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/-1-stores-cost-yahoofinanceuk-1810927014.html|archive-date=15 April 2012|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Variety stores with single price points buy products to fit those price points (while making a profit) that are:
* [[generic brand]]s or [[private label]]s, often specially manufactured using cheaper materials and processes than usual.<ref name="telegraph1"/><ref name="yahoo"/>
* available through the [[grey market]].{{citation needed|date=September 2013}}
* bought at a [[closeout (sale)|closeout sale]], such as seasonal or promotional goods or bankruptcy stock.{{citation needed|date=September 2013}}
* sold in smaller unit sizes than elsewhere.<ref name="telegraph1">{{cite news|work=[[Daily Telegraph]]|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/9543609/How-Poundland-makes-its-millions.html|title=How Poundland makes its millions|date=14 September 2012|first=Harry|last=Wallop|access-date=8 September 2013}}</ref><ref name="yahoo"/>

Not all variety stores are "single price-point" stores, even if their names imply it. For example, in the United States, [[Dollar General]] and [[Family Dollar]] sell items at more or less than a dollar. Some stores also sell goods priced at multiples of the named price and, conversely, multiple items for the price. The discrepancy with the nominal price is also compounded if [[sales tax]] is added at the [[point of sale]].

===Supply===
In many countries, stock can be imported from others with lower variable costs, because of differences in wages, resource costs or taxation.{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}} Usually, goods are imported by a general importer and then sold to the stores [[wholesale]].{{disputed inline|date=September 2013}}

Another source of stock is overruns, surplus items and out-of-date food products. Real Deals, a regional dollar store in the [[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]], New York area, is stocked almost entirely with surplus goods such as these.<ref>{{cite web |first=Dave |last=Tobin |url=http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/business_is_booming_for_auburn.html |title=Business is booming for Auburn-based dollar store chain |work=The Post-Standard; syracuse.com |date=April 2009 |access-date=20 April 2012}}</ref> The legality of selling out-of-date goods varies between jurisdictions: in general, most items (with a few exceptions, particularly certain perishable food items depending on the state) can be sold in the United States regardless of their sell-by date,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fda.gov/aboutfda/transparency/basics/ucm210073.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122182143/http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/ucm210073.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 November 2010|work=US [[Food and Drug Administration]]|title=Did you know that a store can sell food past the expiration date?|access-date=8 September 2013|date=13 April 2013}}</ref> but in the United Kingdom it is illegal to sell goods after their "Use by" date.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/69316/pb132629-food-date-labelling-110915.pdf|page=6|date=September 2011|access-date=8 September 2013|publisher=UK [[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs]]|title=Guidance on the application of date labels to food}}</ref>

===Demography===
Although some people{{who|date=September 2013}} may link variety stores with low-income areas, this is not always true. For example, [[Atherton, California|Atherton]], California has a variety store within its city limits, even though it has a median household income of nearly $185,000 a year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.realestate.com/CA/Atherton/Atherton-Area-Info-Income.aspx |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120911060618/http://www.realestate.com/CA/Atherton/Atherton-Area-Info-Income.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 September 2012 |title=Atherton, CA Real Estate Data |publisher=RealEstate.com |access-date=8 September 2013 }}</ref> Studies of food discounters in Great Britain show quite a varied demographic,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.demographicsusergroup.co.uk/resources/NARSC+-+Modelling+the+future+opportunities+for+deep+discount+food+retailing+in+GB.pdf |work=demographicsusergroup.co.uk |title=Modelling the future opportunities of food retailing in Great Britain |publisher=[[University of Leeds]] |author1=Thompson, Chris |author2=Clarke, Graham |author3=Clark, Martin |author4=Stillwell, John |date=October 2010 |access-date=8 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810152405/http://demographicsusergroup.co.uk/resources/NARSC+-+Modelling+the+future+opportunities+for+deep+discount+food+retailing+in+GB.pdf |archive-date=10 August 2013 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> and [[99p Stores]] reported an increase in higher-income customers after the [[2008 financial crisis]].<ref name="0809_growth">{{cite web |url=http://www.retail-week.com/city/trading-update/99p-stores-guns-for-growth-as-profits-soar/5003874.article |title=99p Stores guns for growth as profits soar |publisher=[[Retail Week]] |date=26 June 2009 |access-date=8 September 2013|first=Nicola|last=Harrison}}</ref>

=== Allegations of creating food deserts ===
Dollar stores have been alleged by a number of studies, individuals, and organizations to proliferate [[Food desert|food deserts]]: areas with limited access to healthy and affordable food.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chenarides |first1=Lauren |last2=Cho |first2=Clare |last3=Nayga Jr. |first3=Rodolfo M. |last4=Thomsen |first4=Michael R. |date=September 2021 |title=Dollar stores and food deserts |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0143622821001132 |journal=Applied Geography |volume=134 |doi=10.1016/j.apgeog.2021.102497 |via=[[Elsevier Science Direct]]}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Corkery |first=Michael |date=2023-03-01 |title=As Dollar Stores Proliferate, Some Communities Say No |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/01/business/dollar-stores-rejected.html |access-date=2024-07-25 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Wesley |date=2022-04-20 |title=As Dollar Stores Proliferate Food Deserts, Some Communities Push Back |url=https://www.eater.com/23026173/dollar-store-general-food-deserts |access-date=2024-07-25 |website=Eater |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Campbell |first=Chris |date=2023-04-26 |title=Dollar Stores Are Becoming Problem for Grocers |url=https://foodinstitute.com/focus/dollar-stores-are-becoming-problem-for-grocers/ |access-date=2024-07-25 |website=The Food Institute |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-20 |title=North Texas dollar stores are adding produce. Is it really a win for food deserts? |url=https://www.keranews.org/news/2023-12-20/north-texas-dollar-stores-are-adding-produce-is-it-really-a-win-for-food-deserts |access-date=2024-07-25 |website=KERA News |language=en}}</ref> Dollar stores are alleged to outcompete local grocery stores, and end up being one of the few options available for purchasing food in some communities.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2019-12-08 |title=Dollar Stores and food deserts: The latest struggle between Main Street and corporate America - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dollar-stores-and-food-deserts-the-latest-struggle-between-main-street-and-corporate-america/ |access-date=2024-07-25 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> Dollar Tree has disputed this claim; it claimed that in a number of cases it created food options in food deserts.<ref name=":1" /> In 2023, Dollar Tree reportedly stopped selling eggs when the price of eggs increased.<ref name=":2" /> In line with these allegations, a number of U.S. states have passed restrictions on where new dollar stores can be opened.<ref name=":3" />