WATCH: Fixing the Food Gap
Join us on Tuesday, May 23rd at 1:00–2:15 pm ET for a live virtual event—featuring Federal Trade Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya alongside community leaders, independent grocers, and advocates… Read More
Stop Dollar Store Proliferation in Your Community: A Strategy Guide
More than 75 cities and towns have defeated dollar storer projects in the last four years. Our new strategy guide can help you keep these chains out of your community.… Read More
Boxed Out: How Big Retailers are Flexing Their Supply Chain Power to Kill Off Small Businesses
Powerful retailers are killing off small businesses by dominating supply chains. Our new report argues it’s time to revive the Robinson-Patman Act and restore antitrust enforcement against predatory buying.… Read More
Maps Show Alarming Pattern of Dollar Stores’ Spread in U.S. Cities
Original maps from eight U.S. cities show how numerous dollar stores have become in urban America and reveal a striking pattern between dollar store locations and neighborhood income and race. We discuss each local context, presenting evidence for why these patterns have emerged and how some cities are beginning to check the spread of dollar chains. … Read More
Dollar Stores Are Targeting Struggling Urban Neighborhoods and Small Towns. One Community Is Showing How to Fight Back.
Although dollar stores sometimes fill a need in places that lack basic retail services, there’s growing evidence that these stores are not merely a byproduct of economic distress. They’re a cause of it. In small towns and urban neighborhoods alike, dollar stores are leading full-service grocery stores to close. And their strategy of saturating communities with multiple outlets is making it impossible for new grocers and other local businesses to take root and grow.… Read More
Fact Sheet: The Impact of Dollar Stores and How Communities Can Fight Back
National dollar store chains, including Dollar General and Dollar Tree, have seen huge growth over the past decade. These stores are also feeding more Americans than Whole Foods is. New research from ILSR’s Community-Scaled Economy Initiative documents the rapid rise of dollar stores and their damaging effects on the local economies of cities and small towns. Explore our two-page fact sheet to learn more about dollar store impacts and strategies to take action.… Read More
Reining in Dollar Stores (Episode 59)
Co-hosts Stacy Mitchell and Marie Donahue speak with Tulsa City Councilwoman, Vanessa Hall-Harper. Earlier this year, the city council of Tulsa, Oklahoma passed an ordinance restricting dollar stores from building new locations in north Tulsa, a predominantly African-American area. … Read More
Bloomberg Businessweek Profiles Cities that Restrict Chains to Free More Space for Local Businesses
A piece by Nick Leiber explores how cities are using caps on “formula” retailers to ensure that local businesses have ample opportunities to secure space and grow. … Read More
Watch San Francisco’s AnMarie Rodgers on How the City’s Formula Business Policy Works
In this 30-minute talk, AnMarie Rodgers, Senior Policy Advisor in the City of San Francisco Planning Department, breaks down the nuts-and-bolts of San Francisco’s pioneering formula business ordinance. She talks about how the city implemented the policy, how it works and how well it works — and what advice she has for other cities that want to do it too.… Read More