Reaching Readers at the Dollar Store By Karen Raugust | Jul 16, 2021
Meanwhile, as many retail stores have closed in recent years, dollar chains have taken the opposite path, even during the pandemic. Dollar General maintains 17,000 stores in 46 states (compared to 3,570 Walmart Supercenters in the U.S.) and is expected to add more than 1,000 stores in 2021. Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, which have 15,000 locations across the two chains, plan 591 new outlets this year.
“Dollar stores are looking for high-quality books at insane value, especially in the U.S.,” Papp explained. That results in very low margins for publishers.
Beth Peters, cofounder of Dreamtivity which was purchased by Readerlink Distribution Services in May, in part because of its strength in the value channel pointed out that high volumes help compensate for those thin margins. A title might sell 10,000–30,000 units into a mass retailer, she said, but 100,000–150,000 units into a