Latest news with #discountstore
CBS News
5 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Stockton's Food Source, last remaining U.S. location, to close for good
Food Source's last remaining location is in Stockton. Now it's closing for good. Food Source's last remaining location is in Stockton. Now it's closing for good. Food Source's last remaining location is in Stockton. Now it's closing for good. STOCKTON — The city of Stockton is losing yet another grocery discount store. Food Source, under parent company Raley's, announced it is closing its location on West Hammer Lane for good on June 6. It's been the last remaining Food Source in operation nationwide. Nearly all of the Family Dollar stores, all the 99-cent stores, and Big Lots have left the city, and the Stockton Sears closed last year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture actually considers a large portion of the West Hammer Lane area a food desert for people who live more than half a mile away. A lot of the big-box stores left because of nationwide closures. Family Dollar claims inflation and retailer competition. Raley's told us that Food Source is closing because the lease is up and the owner of the property is looking for a new tenant. As for what's going to take its place, that has yet to be announced. People like Stockton native Mary and her family have made Food Source their go-to spot for groceries for decades. "I was very disappointed, kind of shocked, you know?" she said of Food Source closing. Now, she'll have to find the food to feed her family somewhere else. Cynthia Burnham is new to Stockton but found a piece of home in these grocery store aisles, which now sit empty. "We just moved here from Alabama. I found this place because it reminds me of some of the stores in Alabama, and I could find some of the stuff that I like," she said. Just like Mary, Burnham, too, has to start from square one. "I finally found something I like, and now I got to start looking again," said Burnham.
South China Morning Post
25-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Don Quijote: Japan's discount haven thrives amid tourist boom
Business is thriving at Don Quijote, a Japanese discount chain that offers a wide range of products, from nostril-hair wax to party costumes. Its popularity among tourists and rising inflation in Japan have contributed to its success. At a large Don Quijote store in Tokyo's Shibuya district, hundreds of tourists can be seen rushing to fill their baskets with snacks and souvenirs from its heaving narrow aisles. The chaotic cut-price shops nicknamed 'Donki' were founded in the 1980s by Takao Yasuda. Yasuda named the stores after his inspiration, the main character from the classic Spanish novel Don Quixote. Don Quijote's penguin mascot Donpen wears a Santa hat. Along with the Don Don Donki jingle, Donpen creates quite a lively atmosphere in the stores.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dollar store jumps on debut, minting a new Malaysian billionaire
By Ram Anand (Bloomberg) – Shares of discount-chain Eco-Shop Marketing gained on their debut on Friday as Malaysia's biggest initial public offering of the year created a billionaire. The stock jumped as much as 10.6% in early trading, before paring its advance. Eco-Shop, which sells household items at a fixed price of 2.60 ringgit ($0.60), raised 974 million ringgit in an offering that valued the company at about $1.5 billion. That's the most since an IPO by 99 Speed Mart Retail in September. The time couldn't have been better for Eco-Shop, according to Chief Executive Officer Jessica Ng. 'If you look at the current economic situation, our business model is even more needed. We stretch the ringgit for many, many people,' Ng said in a Bloomberg News interview. Potential income growth for most of the population over the next two years would also ensure 'a big catchment' and room to expand, she added. The dollar-store operator plans to use proceeds from the share sale to add 70 outlets per year for the next five years, essentially doubling its store count. The debut is a positive sign for Malaysia's market, whose momentum after the 55 IPOs it saw in 2024 was derailed by tariffs. Although Eco-Shop's IPO shares were eventually priced lower, the listing shows there's still traction for low-cost mass consumer brands among investors. Founded by Lee Kar Whatt and his partners in 2003, Eco-Shop has grown to 350 stores across Malaysia. Lee – who will end up with a $1.15 billion stake post-listing, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index – still works out of the company's headquarters in Jementah, a small town located in the southern state of Johor. The company is looking to expand the portfolio of its in-house brands, which make up more than half of sales, to have better control over cost and quality. Ng said the group also has mechanisms in place that allow it to keep the cost of imported products at a minimum. Eco-Shop, which sells everything from snacks to stationery and cleaning products, reported a 45% on-year increase in net profit to 61.7 million ringgit for the three months through February. Revenue jumped 17% to 736 million ringgit. No doubt, competition has intensified in recent years, particularly from established rivals like Mr DIY Group and smaller upstarts run by entrepreneurs from mainland China. But Ng said Eco-Shop can carve out its own niche, given its 68% market share in the country's discount-store sector. Ng, who previously worked at multinationals, said Malaysian brands are generally 'operationally good' and many of them have become 'irreplaceable' due to the scale they have achieved in their respective categories. Resilient domestic demand will continue to help local chains like Eco-Shop thrive, she said. More stories like this are available on ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Free Malaysia Today
23-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Dollar store to boost Malaysian IPOs with year's biggest listing
Eco-Shop sells household items at a fixed price of RM2.60. (Eco-Shop pic) KUALA LUMPUR : Discount-chain Eco-Shop Marketing Bhd debuts in Malaysia today in a listing that's set to create a billionaire after the nation's biggest initial public offering of the year. Eco-Shop, which sells household items at a fixed price of RM2.60, raised RM974 million (US$228 million) in an offering that valued the company at about US$1.5 billion. That's the most since an IPO by 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd in September. Eco-Shop shares jumped as much as 10.6% in early trading. The time couldn't have been better for Eco-Shop, according to chief executive officer Jessica Ng. 'If you look at the current economic situation, our business model is even more needed. We stretch the ringgit for many, many people,' Ng told Bloomberg in an interview. Potential income growth for most of the population over the next two years would also ensure 'a big catchment' and room to expand, she added. The dollar-store operator plans to use proceeds from the share sale to add 70 outlets per year for the next five years, essentially doubling its store count. The debut is a positive sign for Malaysia's market, whose momentum after the 55 IPOs it saw in 2024 was derailed by tariffs. Although Eco-Shop's IPO shares were eventually priced lower, the listing shows there's still traction for low-cost mass consumer brands among investors. Founded by Lee Kar Whatt and his partners in 2003, Eco-Shop has grown to 350 stores across Malaysia. Lee – who will end up with a US$1.15 billion stake post-listing, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index – still works out of the company's headquarters in Jementah, a small town located in the southern state of Johor. The company is looking to expand the portfolio of its in-house brands, which make up more than half of sales, to have better control over cost and quality. Ng said the group also has mechanisms in place that allow it to keep the cost of imported products at a minimum. Eco-Shop, which sells everything from snacks to stationery and cleaning products, reported a 45% on-year increase in net profit to RM61.7 million for the three months through February. Revenue jumped 17% to RM736 million. No doubt, competition has intensified in recent years, particularly from established rivals, like Mr DIY Group Bhd, as well as smaller upstarts run by entrepreneurs from mainland China. But Ng said Eco-Shop can carve out its own niche, given its 68% market share in the country's discount-store sector. Ng, who previously worked at multinationals, said Malaysian brands are generally 'operationally good' and many of them have become 'irreplaceable' due to the scale they have achieved in their respective categories. Resilient domestic demand will continue to help local chains like Eco-Shop thrive, she said.
Bloomberg
22-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Dollar Store to Boost Malaysian IPOs With Year's Biggest Listing
Discount-chain Eco-Shop Marketing Bhd. debuts in Malaysia on Friday in a listing that's set to create a billionaire after the nation's biggest initial public offering of the year. Eco-Shop, which sells household items at a fixed price of 2.60 ringgit ($0.60), raised 974 million ringgit in an offering that valued the company at about $1.5 billion. That's the most since an IPO by 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd. in September.
