One Buck At A Time

 

Shirley J.   Adult Non-Fiction Biography      How Dollar Tree came to be a multi-billion dollar business

One Buck At A Time: An Insider's Account of How Dollar Tree Remade American Retail by Macon Brock      216 pages

I really enjoyed this book.   Macon Brock tells the story of his life, several long term employees and company heads, and relatives in relation to the history of how Dollar Tree came to be, how it became such a phenomenal success, the entire process of making the business a reality, the buying trips to find quality goods to be able to make a profit and still sell everything for only a dollar.  Of course, this book ends the story in 2015 and as those of us who love "The Dollar Store," know, they now offer a wider selection of varied priced items from $1.25 to $3.00 to $5.00, but, even so, it is still such a bargain!  It was a surprise when prices went from $1.00 to $1.25 but after all the years they had been in business and with the nightmare getting their merchandise in after Covid slowed the world market down and made many items scarce, $1.25 wasn't such a bad things.   Naturally $1.00 was wonderful, but, $1.25 isn't so much more.   It is still worth it.   I do have to go in knowing some things cost more, but, they are generally marked so you know either on the package or on the door of the frozen or refrigerated foods, etc.    It was such an enjoyable read learning Macon Brock's story and how he and his wife met and married, she being the daughter of the owner of several businesses, much real estate and a very successful toy empire K & K toys.  (Not KB Toys - they were competitors.)   K & K toys is where Macon began working for his father-in-law and with his brothers-in-law and things just took off from there, with him eventually becoming CEO over what is today known as Dollar Tree.  Macon stepped over not down from being CEO to give the reins to a man he brought in and taught the Dollar Tree way.  That man increased sales and stores and efficiency and technology and to this day, the business just keeps growing.  Macon at the end of the book is in the Chairman of the Board position so he still keeps a hand in the business while letting new blood run the operation.   Such a good read.  I highly recommend it to anyone interested in business, in entrepreneurship, in doing a paper on a successful business, it's practices and how to do things right.   Well done, Macon Brock.   I hope your successor fills us in from 2015 to now.