Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 36

RETAIL pROFILE

owNiNG
The brAND
Cultivating strong partnerships with
its suppliers has allowed Dollarama to
develop an impressive line of private
label offerings, engendering trust and
loyalty in its customers and allowing the
company to break a sacred threshold in
the dollar store category.
BY ANDREW HIND

Dollarama's private label lines provides exclusivity for its brand and engenders trust among its customers.

wITh 786 outlets, annual sales of $1.86 billion,
and more than 14,000 employees, Dollarama
Inc. is Canada’s largest dollar store chain. In
many cities, Dollarama’s bright green and
yellow signs are as ubiquitous and instantly
recognizable as McDonald’s golden arches or
yellow-on-brown Tim Horton’s billboards.
The company’s annual sales have surged by
more than half over the past five years, and its
share price has more than doubled to $44 since
it went public in October, 2009. It’s a noteworthy
performance in a Canadian retail sector that
struggled to regain its pre-recession vitality.
One basis for this remarkable and sustained
success has been Dollarama’s unique approach
to its private label offerings, which has enabled
the company to differentiate itself from its
competitors and cut overhead costs for greater
profitability.

36 |

a growing trend

Dollar stores are North America’s fastest growing retailers.
“The past decade has seen this format move from retail’s fringes into the mainstream,” says Anthony Stokan, best-selling
author of Naked Consumption: Retail Trends Uncovered. Indeed, the number of dollar stores in North America has grown
from 3,000 in 1993 to around 20,000 today. “Today’s dollar
stores are seen by many enthusiastic shoppers as a convenient,
time-saving alternative to big-box destinations.”
Consequently, inexpensive private labels have, in many cases,
offered acceptable quality alternatives to national brands. This
trend has been noted by Dollarama in its Annual Information
Form for the fiscal year ended February 3, 2013 explains that,
“value retail is a well-established and growing segment of the
overall Canadian retail industry. Canadian consumer demand
for value-oriented merchandise has grown substantially over the
last decade, as evidenced by the increase in the number of general
mass merchants, smaller value-priced chains, warehouse/club
stores, discount food stores, close-out retailers and dollar stores.”

canadian retailer | summer 2013 | www.retailcouncil.org/cdnretailer


http://www.retailcouncil.org/cdnretailer

Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013

Publisher's Desk
Retail Currents
Retail: At Issue
Understanding The Expectations of Today's Consumer
The Retail Marketer's Most Powerful Tools
Driving and Converting Web Traffic
E-Commerce
A Better Microscope
The State of Canadian E-Commerce
Owning The Brand
Advertiser's Index
Retail Quick Tips
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - cover1
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - cover2
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 3
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - Publisher's Desk
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 5
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - Retail Currents
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 7
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 8
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 9
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 10
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 11
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - Retail: At Issue
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 13
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 14
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 15
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - Understanding The Expectations of Today's Consumer
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 17
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 18
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 19
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - The Retail Marketer's Most Powerful Tools
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 21
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 22
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - Driving and Converting Web Traffic
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 24
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 25
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 26
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - E-Commerce
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 28
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 29
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - A Better Microscope
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 31
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - The State of Canadian E-Commerce
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 33
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 34
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 35
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - Owning The Brand
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 37
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 38
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 39
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 40
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - Advertiser's Index
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - Retail Quick Tips
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - cover3
Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0617
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0517
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0417
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0317
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0217
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0117
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0616
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0516
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0416
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0316
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0216
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0116
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0615
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0515
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0415
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0315
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0215
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0115
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0614
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0514
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0414
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0314
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0214
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0114
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0613
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0513
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0413
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0313
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/GrandPrix2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0213
https://www.nxtbook.com/naylor/RETS/RETS0113
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0512
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0412
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0212
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0511
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0411
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0111
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0510
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0110
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0309
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/naylor/RETS0209
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com