←back to thread

Dollar-stores overcharge customers while promising low prices

(www.theguardian.com)
510 points bookofjoe | 1 comments | 07 Dec 25 14:37 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
Show context
regera ◴[07 Dec 25 21:07 UTC] No.46185157[source]▶
Dollar stores are private equity with a checkout lane.

In 2025, Dollar Tree sold Family Dollar to a group of private-equity firms: Brigade Capital Management, Macellum Capital Management and Arkhouse Management Co.

https://corporate.dollartree.com/news-media/press-releases/d...

It’s a business model cosplaying as poverty relief while quietly siphoning money from the people least able to lose it. They already run on a thin-staff, high-volume model. That 23% increase is not a glitch. They know their customers can’t drive across town to complain. They know the regulators won’t scale fines to revenue.

replies(17): >>46185182 #>>46185228 #>>46185328 #>>46185369 #>>46185506 #>>46185683 #>>46185730 #>>46185872 #>>46186098 #>>46186112 #>>46186250 #>>46187818 #>>46188387 #>>46190357 #>>46192019 #>>46194885 #>>46195965 #
sema4hacker ◴[07 Dec 25 21:15 UTC] No.46185228[source]▶
Has private equity ever done anything good for anyone outside of the investors?
replies(19): >>46185374 #>>46185474 #>>46185536 #>>46185605 #>>46185618 #>>46185662 #>>46185700 #>>46185710 #>>46186450 #>>46186733 #>>46187823 #>>46188138 #>>46188268 #>>46188770 #>>46189870 #>>46190264 #>>46191097 #>>46191669 #>>46192442 #
jahsome ◴[07 Dec 25 21:43 UTC] No.46185474[source]▶
To me, that is an utterly hilarious question to be posing on this website of all places.
replies(1): >>46185712 #
excalibur ◴[07 Dec 25 22:08 UTC] No.46185712[source]▶
That's a good point. Private Equity is a fairly broad umbrella term that encompasses a variety of investment strategies and business models.

The type of Private Equity that most here are referring to is the type that buys up existing businesses, squeezes as much money as possible out of them, and throws their desecrated corpses in the gutter. These "investors" are a blight on society, this activity should be criminalized, they should be in prison.

But there are a lot of well-meaning investors who do great things for society that also get stuck with the same label.

replies(2): >>46186771 #>>46191913 #
1. mbesto ◴[08 Dec 25 13:22 UTC] No.46191913{3}[source]▶
> The type of Private Equity that most here are referring to is the type that buys up existing businesses, squeezes as much money as possible out of them, and throws their desecrated corpses in the gutter.

And this type of PE represents a very small minority of what is actually considered "Private Equity". The vast majority of PE deals are about growth. This small minority of asset stripping PE groups gets the most headlines though.

Source: my firm works with ~400 PE firms.