On the rise and (at least temporary) fall of Dollar General

Michael Corkery of the New York Times reports today on the struggles of Dollar General and other stores that cater to low-income populations:  

the unbridled success of dollar stores and their business model, which has benefited from the prevalence of poverty and disinvestment in the inner cities and rural America. Dollar stores, which pay among the lowest wages in the retail industry and often operate in areas where there is little competition, are stumbling in the later stages of the pandemic.

Sales are slowing and some measures of profit are shrinking as the industry struggles with a confluence of challenges. They include burned-out workers, pressure to increase wages, supply chain problems and a growing number of cities and towns that are rejecting new dollar stores because, they say, the business model harms their communities.

Prior posts about Dollar General (or at last mentioning it) are here.  Interestingly, I noticed a Dollar General visible from I-5 as I drove through Dunsmuir, California yesterday.  I don't recall it being there last time I visited, in summer of 2018.