Dollar Tree will stop selling eggs because they are too expensive

NY
CNN
—

Eggs have become too expensive for the Dollar Tree.

dollar tree

(DLTR)which sells most products for $1.25 and a small selection for $3 or $5, will stop selling eggs in stores because the company can’t make money offering them at fixed prices.

Egg prices have risen due to shortages caused by the deadly bird flu, high production costs and egg producers increase their own profits.

The cost of eggs jumped 38% annually for producers in February and 55% for buyers, although eggs starts to get cheaper. The average price for a dozen large Grade A eggs in February was $4.21. date from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Most retailers have raised egg prices for shoppers to accommodate higher costs, but Dollar Tree doesn’t have that flexibility to raise prices.

“Our base price at Dollar Tree is $1.25. The cost of eggs is currently very high,” a spokesman for the company said. Randy Giller. Dollar Tree, which has about 9,000 stores in the US, will return the eggs when “costs are more in line with historical levels.”

But it probably won’t make it in time for the key egg-buying holiday, Easter, which falls on April 9 this year.

Reuters first reported that Dollar Tree would stop selling eggs. Family Dollar, owned by Dollar Tree, will continue to sell eggs.

Shoppers on a budget are increasingly turning to dollar stores for food.

Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and Dollar General, the largest of the three chains, have expanded in recent years and added more food staples, though fresh and healthy options are limited. dollar stores fastest growing food retailers in America, according to a Tufts University study published this year.

The dollar tree used to sell boxes of eight or six eggs for $1. In 2021, Dollar Tree announced that raise prices to $1.25 because selling for just $1 squeezed the business.

Dollar Tree also made the decision to phase out eggs because its stores use a lean staffing model, said David D’Arezzo, a former executive at Dollar General and other retailers who is now an industry consultant. Workers changing the price tags on eggs every week to account for the wild fluctuations in the market will put additional pressure on the store, he said.

D’Arezzo said the chain caters to low- and middle-income customers and doesn’t want to offer shockingly priced eggs to damage its pricing reputation with shoppers.