Posts published in “Day: March 31, 2024”

Dollar stores have become a big deal in Oregon, a central retail business in dozens of smaller communities.

They also are a major national business model and industry which has grown with lightning speed over the last decade, potentially contributing to the hollowing out of many small-town economies and a dependence on owners from far away. That  may be one of the reasons for a shift in rural areas toward political extremes.

But now they may be facing an economic pivot.

One of the smaller inflection points, which may be indicative of others to come, could show up at a Wallowa County public hearing on March 26.

It comes in the context of what is likely an industry-wide change. Dollar Tree, which operates 16,774 locations, and has the largest share of the ubiquitous dollar stores nationally, said this month in its generally optimistic quarterly financial report that it will close about 1,000 of those stores nationwide within about a year. Those closures are expected to include 970 under the name Family Dollar and 30 Dollar Trees.

The corporation didn’t say where those shutdowns would be, but a significant number of Oregon stores are likely to be among them since Oregon has a lot of dollar stores. There are 70 Dollar Tree and six Family Dollar outlets in Oregon, the company said. A competing company, Dollar General, reports operating even more stores, with 78 in Oregon.

These stores may be barely noticed by residents in larger cities around the state, where their footprint is light, but they have become central to commerce in many smaller communities, especially those economically struggling. Most of the communities where they’re  planted have populations well under 10,000, and in contrast to most public-facing businesses, growth has not been an issue for these stores.

Pilot Rock, with a population of 1,328 and declining in the last census by 11%, now has two of them. The East Oregonian reported it “is the hottest market for dollar stores in Umatilla County.”

Soon after, the long-operating Pilot Rock Market announced it was closing. Its owner explained, “you can’t fight corporate America. They sell things a lot cheaper than I can sell things. So, people go there.”

The Umatilla and Morrow marketing area also has seen intense dollar store development in Boardman, Umatilla, Heppner, Milton-Freewater and Irrigon.

That’s not unusual. Others among the many small communities in Oregon with dollar stores include Creswell, Drain, Winston, Cave Junction, Lakeside, Sutherlin, Hines, Culver and Christmas Valley.

Many of those communities have welcomed them. But, just as national difficulties may be starting to hit the industry, some smaller cities have begun pushing back.

This brings us to Wallowa in Wallowa County, population around 800, where one day last November residents were surprised to see a banner declaring that a new Dollar General store was being slated for construction at 70970 Frontage Road.

In contrast to the welcome from some small towns, a group in Wallowa declared “No Dollar General,” launched a website and a petition drive and offered a string of reasons for their opposition to its launch there. They said local businesses were likely to be damaged by the national chain, that employee wages and opportunities would be limited, that it might label their community as struggling and the food options offered there could impair public health. They also had concerns about the specific location, including effects on traffic safety and a nearby stream.

The group’s website added, “Dollar General’s have become a symbol of a community in crisis. Their presence sends the message to other businesses that a community lacks the wealth to be worthy of investment. The generic design of Dollar General with its bright yellow illuminated signage negatively impacts the aesthetics and character of our community.  The tax revenue generated by Dollar General stores may not be sufficient to cover the costs of services they require, putting pressure on local budgets.”

The group has been fundraising, and its petition against the store – circulated in a small-population area – gathered 750 signatures.

Wallowa County has a tradition of resisting national chain businesses and encouraging its own, as it demonstrated in 2015 when a local group bought, and has since operated, the Wallowa Lake Lodge near Joseph, so a national business wouldn’t.

The Dollar General development effort at Wallowa has nonetheless proceeded apace, so far. The next local government action on the development, by the Wallowa County Planning Commission, is expected on March 26. Local critics of the store have indicated they may not stop with that hearing, possibly to the point of organizing a boycott.

The largest local impact of dollar stores in many communities has been the loss of local businesses and community organizations. It could be that the reaction to the stores may help some local communities find that resource, and voice, once again. Other Oregon communities might find it useful paying attention to developments in Wallowa.

This column originally appeared in the Oregon Capital Chronicle.