Dollar General Discount to Drive Holiday Toy Sales

By George Anderson



With the vast majority of toys it sells being $5 or less, it’s not likely that
many individuals are going to spend $250 for the holidays on these items at
Dollar General.



There are individuals and organizations, however, engaged in toy drives that
are looking to buy large quantities of toys at a low price. These are the shoppers
the chain has targeted with a 10 percent discount on bulk toy purchases of
$250 or more between now and Christmas Eve.



"Dollar General is proud to help charitable organizations during the holidays
once again," said Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s chief merchandising
officer, in a statement. "We hope this discount will help organizations
stretch their dollars farther to help more children have a happy holiday."



The chain also plans to host in-store toy drives to benefit needy kids in the
communities it serves. Dollar General has more than 9,100 stores across the
U.S.



The retailer said it has over 350 items, including art supplies, board games,
licensed toys and plush animals, that have a top price point of $5.



Discussion Questions: Will Dollar General build good will and sales with its
bulk toy discount program? How much of a competitive threat are dollar stores
to other retailers that sell toys?

BrainTrust

Discussion Questions

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Steve Montgomery
Steve Montgomery
13 years ago

Dollar General captures some good will simply by having a such a program. However, for it to truly generate goodwill in an area, those seeking to buy toys in bulk will have to make an actual purchase and the help spread the word where and why they did.

I admit that Dollar General is not the first place I think of buying toys but I don’t shop in their stores. With 9,100 locations and a decent selection of lower priced toys, I am sure that they can have an impact but I don’t see them significantly hurting Wal-Mart, Target, Toy “R” Us, etc.

David Livingston
David Livingston
13 years ago

I was just wondering what kid today would be happy with a $5 toy? I doubt any kid is going to be showing off anything that was bought at a dollar store.

Connie Kski
Connie Kski
13 years ago

For the family that measures Christmas success by quantity, this is a big win!

Ed Rosenbaum
Ed Rosenbaum
13 years ago

I think we are going to agree that not many buyers will spend $250.00 on toys at Dollar General. But the goodwill they will gain is not to be ignored. More companies, like Walmart, Target, and Toys “R” Us should jump on this bandwagon.

This is a program I adopted and have run with for over thirty years. I implement it in every organization I have and am involved with. Our Holiday meetings in December have a requirement that to gain admittance you must bring at least one unwrapped gift for a child with a value of $25.00 or under. We have an organization like Toys For Tots, Women in Distress or the Marines come to that meeting to pick up the toys. It has always been the most successful, best attended meeting of the year. Try it with those organizations you belong to. The feelings of satisfaction and giving are beyond belief.

Craig Sundstrom
Craig Sundstrom
13 years ago

I’m not sure the country is as filled with ingrates as David seems to think–I’d suggest a trip to Milwaukee’s North side if he’s looking for people who might welcome a $5 gift–but that’s all rather beside the point: people obviously buy what DG sells, and if they can get more this X-mas, so much the better (for them and the company)…Happy Holidays!