Dirt Cheap, a famous retailer in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, has announced it will be shutting down all 68 of its stores in eight states. The announcement follows the bankruptcy filing of its parent organization, Channel Control Merchants, in Delaware under Chapter 11. This closure will not only touch Dirt Cheap but also its sister brands, which are Treasure Hunt and Dirt Cheap Building Supplies. For the time being, liquidation sales are already in progress allowing consumers to enjoy huge cuts as the business seeks to close shop by the end of the year 2024.
At the very least, nine stores in South Mississippi among many other regions will be closing shop, the most significant ones being the ones in Gautier, Gulfport, Long Beach, Lucedale, Picayune, Waveland and Wiggins. For many years, the stores have been a part of the community and fondly remembered for their low-price sales, which include clearance stocks and goods that are returned to suppliers from the main store. The company made an advertisement as an ‘extreme value retailer’ offering goods at very low prices and at the same time encouraging environmental conservation. In 2022, it was announced by Dirt Cheap that more than 60 million products had been kept out of landfill thanks to the resale of products that would otherwise have been wasted.
Dirt Cheap reaches the end of the road
Despite its best intentions towards green practices, and despite being the go-to place for many price-sensitive shoppers, the retailer has over the years experienced increased financial strain. The parent company, Channel Control Merchants, attributed its bankruptcy not only to the unpredictability in retail but also its debt. This was a company that started with the business Hudson’s in Mississippi and Out of Dirt Cheap, had spread to regional chains and their other properties in the same states as Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, among others. Yet, even with all this expansion, the realities of the retail business, such as the supply chain inadequacies as well as the shift in consumer behavior, made it difficult for the company to be financially stable.
The closure of Dirt Cheap is in tandem with a recent behavioral shift within the retail paradigm, where retailers for example have in many cases retrenched or completely closed down some of their operations. The Chapter 11 filing and the consequent store closures for Dirt Cheap signify a closure of the discount company. The business model which heavily relied on buying back returns, excess stock, and other unsold goods from big retailers at huge discounts of even 90% will cease to exist as the firm embarks on a debt repayment mission.
One of the latest additions to Dirt Cheap, the Dirt Cheap Super Lux, was launched very recently in Gulfport, which is in May 2023. The objective of this store format was to provide high-quality products to the customers at lower prices however targeting the upper market segment which is against the core mission and vision of the business which is more on that every product is for every customer. Still this enhancement also could not rescue the corporation away from hardship. The shutdown of this particular outlet along with all others also marks the failure of the company’s management to respond fast enough to the harsh realities of the retail business.
During the interim period and liquidations of the sales, consumers can get ready for a lot of slashing of prices on almost every kind of goods. The firm has been making use of its social media pages to communicate toward its customers with regard to the advertised sales and other related news. However, all the shops will be closed down permanently within the year 2024.
