Dollar

World

opens

in mall

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Looking for cereal bowls, plastic storage bins, kitchen cleaners? They're only a buck, and so is everything else at the new Dollar World that opened last Monday in the Marktplatz Mall.

You'll even find some items, like greeting cards, for example, that are two for a buck, but nothing is over a dollar.

Dollar World is the creation of Duane and Gina Winter who have operated the Taco Johns3 on South Broadway for 18 years. While Gina continues as a 911 dispatcher at the Law Enforcement Center, Duane will be splitting his time between Taco Johns and Dollar World.

Opening a store where nothing costs more than a dollar in a mall would seem to be a sure ticket to disaster, but Winter believes such a store is an extension of his Taco Johns business.

"With no 'big-ticket' items and lower average sales, it's more the number of customers versus the big-ticket sales," Winter explained. "Our idea was to open a store where everything was a dollar, or things like greeting cards are two for a dollar, to create fun, excitement and traffic in the mall."

As to being an extension, Winter noted, "With Taco Johns, I've found that being neat and clean and things are bright and run well, people will come. I know that it's only a dollar store, but this site is nice, it's clean, it's neat. There's track lighting all the way around so it's really well lit.

"People in New Ulm like things to be neat, clean and orderly; that's the way they are. Our store appears that way, very organized, easy to shop, especially for men."

Winter finds having everything the same price also has its economic advantages.

"It's not heavy on customer service," Winter said. "You have to be nice and pleasant, but we don't have to be trained in product knowledge like we would if we were opening a clothing or a shoe store where you and your employees have to be trained."

Another big savings in overhead stems from not having to price-mark merchandise.

"I don't have to pay anybody to mark anything," Winter explained. "With one order alone, we got in over 55,000 items. It was our biggest order, but can you imagine price-marking every one of them?"

Another savings is in costly inventory-control and price-scanning equipment.

The vendor who sold Winter his cash register tried to talk him into buying a scanner for scanning prices and maintaining inventory.

"I said, what for? Everything is a dollar, and when what we have stored in the back room starts getting low, we know to re-order," Winter said. "One of the fun things is that you don't have to always re-order the same thing. For a dollar store, people are happy when you get new and different things in. We're not going to be able to get the same things every single time we order, and we wouldn't necessarily want to."

Winter also is quick that his store isn't a haven for liquidated merchandise.

"I buy from wholesalers who serve the dollar-store market. If I wanted to do a sunglasses display, for example, there are five different wholesalers who do sunglasses, complete with displays. So I can just send for their catalogs, find out whose displays are best for me, who's got the best price and go from there."

While Winter is operating a for-profit business, he also views it as a community service.

"I was looking for something that would help New Ulm because I realize that people see the chain stores are pulling out and going to Mankato, and you're not going to get comparable stores in here. If we want New Ulm to succeed and continuing growing, some of us successful business people are going to have to step up and make an investment in our communities.

"That's what I want to do is keep New Ulm growing," Winter said, "but I'm still planning to make some dollars, though. I have to, to stay in business."