Dollar General Industry and Competitive AnalysisJoin now to read essay Dollar General Industry and Competitive AnalysisDollar General Industry and Competitive AnalysisINDUSTRYThe first step to understanding a company is to examine its industry. There are four main areas to consider when analyzing an industry. These include:
CompetitorsThere are several different types of stores within the discount retail industry, and for comparison’s sake, the industry is further broken into many segments. DG is in the market segment known as the dollar store category. As a result, competitors such as Wal-Mart are in the same industry but not the same peer group. Comparisons will be made throughout this report to Wal-Mart and other big firms because they tend draw some of the same customers.
CustomersRetail merchandise stores attract many different types of people. For example, Wal-Mart targets all income level households, whereas dollar stores such as DG serve “need-to” shoppers. More specifically, the target customers of DG are normally in towns with less than 20,000 people and have the following characteristics:
most customers are in the low-, middle-, and fixed-income brackets81 percent of customers are female44 percent of customers are over the age of 5548 percent of its customers earn less than $30,000 a year26 percent of customers have incomes lower than $20,000most customers live within five miles of the storeDG serves a narrow market range and offers low prices. It strives to meet the needs of lower and lower-middle income consumers. The company can be classified as having a focused cost leadership strategy according to Porter’s Generic Strategies Model
MerchandiseStores within the discount retail industry offer a wide variety of products at low prices. Discount stores offer brand names but place an emphasis on brands unique to their own stores for a lesser price. Trends toward perishable items are becoming more apparent in the market as well. In 2004 DG started added in refrigerated coolers to there many stores which are filled with frequently purchased items including milk, dairy products, eggs, luncheon meats and selected frozen foods.
The store offers value to its consumers by having private label brands, and claims to “offer name brand quality at a very special price.” The company’s unique brands are Clover Valley, DG Guarantee, Open Trials, and Crossbow. The private labeled brands are tested each year to make sure the items meet the consumer’s quality expectations.
Everything sold at DG comes with the Dollar General guarentee. If a customer is not satisfied with a product offered by Dollar General a full refund or an exchange is offered.
Dollar General continues to keep its cost of goods low by offering only a limited assortment of goods.LocationA business can only be successful if it is placed in a region where it is likely to strive. In the retail industry, stores are positioned accordingly. Larger firms, such as Wal-Mart, are present in all 50 states and have grown internationally as well. Smaller firms, such as Family Dollar and DG have not expanded into all 50 states, nor have they ventured into foreign markets. In fact, they are only present in 35 states. Each store has found success in different economic regions as well. For instance, Target is considered an “upscale discounter.” Location, in combination with competitors, customers, and merchandise, all affect a company’s business strategy.
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To view a table of full-price products, select from “View Products” tab. You will be presented with an in-page menu with available products and prices. All items placed in a shopping cart appear on a page named “Full Price,” to the left and right of your itemized shopping cart.
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For the latest news on location, visit www.locale.com. The site provides the products you’ll be looking for (when the listing starts) by looking at the product categories presented. When checking out the prices, click the item name above to go to the list of products below that show the price from the listing. At the top of this page, you’ll find further information.
S&P 500 Index Prices for the next calendar 12 months . (1% of all daily value of dollars purchased)
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Each store, each month, offers several different prices as to which of their items are available. For example, if the price for your next day will reach $75, the “Restaurant-wide” option at this location provides the price of the next day ($74).
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Each new store typically provides multiple prices for this product. As you browse the “Full Price:” view, you’ll see items that are no longer available on the store shelves. A single retailer will sell the same number of items. In the retail category, each store has a different price.
The following items are available in the “Full Price:” model:
The following items are currently sold on a store level. They are typically free to purchase by you and that are not available on the store shelves because they come from the local retail group.
The following items are not free but may be available for purchase on store level;
