John Oliver took on the mismanagement and employee mistreatment of dollar stores on Last Week Tonight. Dollar stores, or retail outlets which sell inexpensive products usually for around a dollar, are dominated by two chains: Dollar General and Dollar Tree, which also owns Family Dollar. The companies collectively operate more than 35,000 dollar stores in the US – more than Walmart, Starbucks and McDonald’s combined, and for great profit; Dollar General made over $2bn in 2022, while Dollar Tree made $1.62bn.
Dollar stores usually operate in low-income areas, and are often the only food retailer in food deserts. As Dollar General’s chief executive, Todd Vasos, said of their business 2020: “We do very good in good times, and we do fabulous in bad times.”
