Value Retailing — Value Retailers

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Value retailers sell basic goods for family and home needs in a no-frills, low-overhead, cash-and-carry environment that provides good value at the lowest price points. Family Dollar began with one store in 1959 in Charlotte, North Carolina and grew to more than 6,600 stores in 44 states; Dollar General is described as the nation's largest small-box discount retailer, offering a carefully edited assortment of popular brands at low everyday prices in small, convenient locations. Clothing outlet stores are technically value retailers, because they offer leading fashion brands at attractive discounts.

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After you finish reviewing below about value retailing, we suggest you also learn more about outlet stores her in our fashion retail terminology section.

There are a handful of very well known value retailers.  However, there are also many smaller value retailers that contribute to the overall retailing landscape.  One of the larger companies that you may have heard of would be Family Dollar.  They began with one store in 1959 in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Company currently operates more than 6,600 stores in 44 states. Family Dollar Stores, Inc., a Fortune 500 company, is based in Matthews, North Carolina, just outside of Charlotte and is a publicly held company with common stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol FDO.  The first Family Dollar store was opened in Charlotte, NC, in 1959.  It was a relatively small, self-service operation located in a neighborhood convenient to low and middle income consumers. The merchandise assortment featured basic goods for family and home needs. The no frills, low overhead, cash-and-carry environment provided good value at the lowest price points. As the company opened more stores, it became clear that this merchandising concept filled a niche in the marketplace and held great promise for supporting a chain of much larger size.

Dollar General is another value retailer with significant size.  Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based Dollar General Corporation is the nation�s largest small-box discount retailer. They make shopping for everyday needs simpler and hassle-free by offering a carefully edited assortment of the most popular brands at low everyday prices in small, convenient locations. Dollar General ranks among the largest retailers of top-quality brands made by America�s most-trusted manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble, Kimberly Clark, Unilever, Kellogg�s, General Mills and Nabisco. Dollar General saves you time by staying focused on life's simple necessities: laundry detergent, toilet paper, soap, shampoo, socks and underwear...maybe a gadget or two that you just can't live without.

Clothing Outlet Stores are technically value retailers.  The clothing outlets offer leading fashion brands at attractive discounts.  Therefore, they are certainly providing value.

There are a few very good value retail websites that offer informative details to help retailers and consumers learn more about value retailing.  One such site is called Value Retail News (VRN).  They provide news and information pertinent to the industry.  For example, you can view their outlet industry reports from 2009:

Outlet Facts from Value Retail News

If this page does not provide you with enough "valuable" information, you can search the internet for additional value retailer and value retailing resources. 

It might also be a good idea to learn about mass merchants selling clothing, footwear, fashion accessories and beauty product.

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Learn more about clothing retailers.

What is an outlet store?

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A good way to receive value is to buy clothing at a discount or possibly use a coupon or better yet, buy fashion when it is on sale.  You can look here on Apparel Search for Discount Clothing, Clothing Coupons, and fashion sales.


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Fashion outlet stores are fabulous for finding deals on clothing, shoes, handbags and other fashion accessories.

How the Value Format Works

The economics described on this page rest on four linked choices. Locations are small and convenient to the low and middle income neighborhoods the stores serve, rather than large destination boxes. The environment is no-frills and self-service, which keeps overhead — and therefore prices — low. The assortment is carefully edited to the most popular brands and life's simple necessities, from laundry detergent and toilet paper to socks and underwear, so every shelf slot turns quickly. And payment is cash-and-carry in spirit: low prices in exchange for few services. Dollar General's ranking among the largest retailers of top-quality brands made by America's most-trusted manufacturers shows the other half of the formula — value retailing is not own-label only; it sells trusted national brands, in edited ranges, at low everyday prices.

Value Retailing and Fashion

For apparel, the value idea branches three ways. Small-box discounters carry basic clothing — socks, underwear and everyday family items — as part of the general assortment. Clothing outlet stores sell leading fashion brands at discounts, which makes them value retailers for branded goods. Mass merchants, covered in their own term in this directory, apply value pricing at much larger scale across clothing, footwear, fashion accessories and beauty products. Shoppers looking for value beyond these formats can also buy clothing at a discount, use a coupon, or buy fashion when it is on sale; the Discount Clothing, Clothing Coupons and fashion sales pages linked from this page collect those routes.

Common Questions

What is a value retailer?

A retailer whose offer is built on value at low price points: a no-frills store, low overhead and a basic, carefully edited assortment of goods for family and home needs, sold at the lowest prices the format can sustain.

How did Family Dollar start?

The first Family Dollar store opened in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1959. It was a relatively small, self-service operation in a neighborhood convenient to low and middle income consumers, and the concept filled a niche that supported a chain of much larger size.

Are clothing outlet stores value retailers?

Yes. Clothing outlets offer leading fashion brands at attractive discounts, so they are providing value in the same sense — brand merchandise at prices below regular retail — even though their assortments come from fashion brands rather than basic goods.

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