deaverb

Big Lots, Wal-Mart and Costco: 3 Musketeers of the Pooring of America

As a supplier to Target, Best Buy, and other high end folks, as well as grocers like Kroger, drug chains such as Walgreen, and our core growth area--dollar, Dollar Tree (growing 700% faster in US than Wal-Mart, with more stores), Big Lots, DG, and 99 cent stores, we see things outside of the charts.

1. They buy great stuff. Our software/audiobooks sell for $1 to $1.99 in these outlets; same stuff at $4.99 or higher in the high end folks. Same for many others.

2. The Ames, Zayre, Kmart junk of old is gone. The value retailers only buy solid reliable products (of course an error occurs here and there, but my experience is Target and BBY has more of them).

3. Cost control. N 30; FOB; no returns; clean. That means people price to the penny.

4. Simple systems: emailed or faxed orders; scan goods on back of truck. No invoices allowed as a rule. No expensive EDI. Clean.

That's a formula for growth.