Why Naming a Store After a Price Is Bad (Or, a Short History of Ooops, We Need to Raise the Price)

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Earlier today @NJChicaa wrote a discussion about the news that the chain of stores known as the Dollar Tree will be increasing their prices. This shows you why naming a store after a fixed price is a bad idea. Eventually inflation will destroy that price’s practicality. Here’s a few chains that were named after a price that they no longer abide by: *DOLLAR TREE: the newest victim, of course. They didn’t learn from their predecessors…. *DOLLAR GENERAL: Yes, the original “dollar store.” You can’t find much in there for a dollar anymore, except maybe the candy bars that used to be 10c. *FAMILY DOLLAR: So when Dollar General started raising their prices Family Dollar decided to take over the “sell it for a buck” market. Like Dollar General, the candy bars might be a dollar, but that’s it. *MOTEL 6: Ah, here’s one you probably didn’t know about. Motel 6 is named thus because it used to cost six bucks to stay there. How did they get by so cheaply? Simple: they charged for everything. When I was a kid we stayed at one on vacation (and, back then, they weren’t the roach motels they are today), and you had to pay to watch TV for an hour. Seriously. *8 DAYS INN: At least they just dropped the “8” from their name, but when the motel chain began they had a big “8” in their sun logo. It was a whopping eight dollars to stay there, as opposed to the six dollars of Motel 6. *SUPER 8: The most expensive of the lot, it was $8.88 to stay there. And, most importantly…. *THE FIVE-AND-DIME STORES: Woolworth’s Five-and-Dime, Ben Franklin’s Five-and-Dime, and even Sam Walton’s Five-and-Dime. Maybe “five-and-ten dollars” now…. So if you’re thinking of starting a store, don’t name it after a fixed price. Even “Under a Million Bucks” will probably be obsolete eventually! The late Nanci Griffith singing about the old five and dimes: