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A discount store or discounter offers a retail format in which products are sold at prices that are in principle lower than an actual or supposed "full retail price". Discounters rely on
bulk purchasing Bulk purchasing or mass buying is the purchase of much larger quantities than the usual, for a unit price that is lower than the usual. Wholesaling is selling goods in large quantities at a low unit price to retail merchants. The wholesaler will ...
and efficient
distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations * Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...
to keep down costs.


Types (United States)

Discount stores in the United States may be classified into different types:


Hypermarkets (superstores)

Discount superstores such as
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
or
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
sell general merchandise in a
big-box store A big-box store (also hyperstore, supercenter, superstore, or megastore) is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. The t ...
; many have a full grocery selection and are thus
hypermarket A hypermarket (sometimes called a hyperstore, supercentre or superstore) is a big-box store combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including ...
s, though that term is not generally used in North America. In the 1960s and 1970s the term "discount department store" was used, and chains such as Kmart, Zodys and TG&Y billed themselves as such. The term "discount department store" or "off-price department store" is sometimes applied to big-box discount retailers of apparel and home goods, such as Ross Dress For Less, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and
Kohls Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. it is the largest department store chain in the United States, with 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Hawa ...
.


Category killers

So-called
category killer A category killer is a retailer, often a big-box store, that specializes in and carries a large product assortment of a given category. Their wide merchandise selections, deep supply, large buying power, and a comparative advantage to other retailer ...
stores, specialize in one type of merchandise and sell it in
big-box store A big-box store (also hyperstore, supercenter, superstore, or megastore) is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. The t ...
s. Examples include: *Apparel: Ross Dress For Less, Marshalls,
Kohls Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. it is the largest department store chain in the United States, with 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Hawa ...
, etc. *Pet supplies: Petco,
Petsmart PetSmart is a privately held American chain of pet superstores, which sell pet products, services, and small pets. It is the leading North American pet company, and its direct competitor is Petco. Its indirect competitors are Amazon, Walmart, ...
*Home furnishings and accessories: Big Lots,
HomeGoods HomeGoods is a chain of home furnishing stores headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts. It was founded as a small chain in 1992, and grew to include hundreds of locations throughout the United States. HomeGoods sells furniture, linens, cooking ...
*Office supplies: Staples,
Office Depot The ODP Corporation is an American office supply holding company headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. The company has combined annual sales of approximately $11 billion, and employs about 38,000 associates with businesses in the United States. ...
, OfficeMax


Warehouse clubs

When membership is required, discount superstores are known as warehouse clubs, and often require purchases of larger sizes or quantities of goods than a regular superstore. The main national chains, both of which have operations outside the U.S., are
Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...
and Sam's Club.


Discount grocery store

Major discount
grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...
retail chains in the U.S. include
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
, Lidl,
Trader Joe's Trader Joe's is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. The chain has over 569 stores across the United States. The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, California ...
, Save-A-Lot and Grocery Outlet. Currently
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
and Lidl are the largest discount retailers in the world operating more than 25,000 discount stores worldwide between them.


Variety stores, dollar stores, five and dimes

Variety stores in the U.S. today most commonly known as
dollar store A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, automotive parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of groceries. It us ...
s such as
Dollar General Dollar General Corporation is an American chain of variety stores headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As of April 11, 2022, Dollar General operates 18,216 stores in the continental United States. The company began in 1939 as a family-own ...
, Family Dollar and
Dollar Tree Dollar Tree, Inc. is an American multi-price-point chain of discount variety stores. Headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia, it is a ''Fortune'' 500 company and operates 15,115 stores throughout the 48 contiguous U.S. states and Canada. Its st ...
, which sell goods usually only at a single price-point or multiples thereof (£1, $2, etc.). During the early and mid-twentieth century they were commonly known as "five and dimes" or "dime stores". Stores of the main chains,
Woolworth's Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...
,
J. J. Newberry J. J. Newberry's was an American five and dime store chain in the 20th century. It was founded in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, United States, in 1911 by John Josiah Newberry (1877–1954). J. J. Newberry learned the variety store business by working ...
and
S. S. Kresge Sebastian Spering Kresge (July 31, 1867 – October 18, 1966) was an American businessman. He created and owned two chains of department stores, the S. S. Kresge Company, one of the 20th century's largest discount retail organizations, and the ...
, lined the shopping streets of U.S. downtowns and suburbs, and starting in the 1950s they also opened branches in shopping malls. These chains originally sold items for 5, 10 or 25 cents, but many later moved to a model with flexible price points, with a variety of general merchandise at discounted prices, in formats smaller than today's discount superstores.


History


United States

During the period from the 1950s to the late 1980s, discount stores were more popular than the average
supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
or
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
in the United States. There were hundreds of discount stores in operation, with their most successful period occurring during the mid-1960s in the U.S. with discount store chains such as Kmart,
Ames Ames may refer to: Places United States * Ames, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas * Ames, Colorado * Ames, Illinois * Ames, Indiana * Ames, Iowa, the most populous city bearing this name * Ames, Kansas * Ames, Nebraska * Ames, New York * Ames, Oklah ...
,
Two Guys Two Guys from Harrison (later shortened to Two Guys) is a former discount store chain founded in 1946 by brothers Herbert and Sidney Hubschman in Harrison, New Jersey, originally selling major appliances such as televisions. The chain acquired ...
,
Gibson's Discount Center Gibson's Discount Center, also known as Gibson's, was a large discount store chain in the United States. There are a few Gibson's Discount Centers still operating under independent ownership; two in Texas in Weatherford and Kerrville, and two in ...
,
E. J. Korvette E. J. Korvette, also known as Korvettes, was an American chain of discount department stores, founded in 1948 in New York City. It was one of the first department stores to challenge the suggested retail price provisions of anti-discounting sta ...
,
Mammoth Mart Mammoth Mart was a discount department store chain, located in the northeastern United States, primarily in the New England area. The chain was founded by Max Coffman and Henry Gornstein in Framingham, Massachusetts in 1956, and was something of ...
,
Fisher's Big Wheel Fishers Big Wheel, sometimes known as just Big Wheel, was a discount department store chain based in New Castle, Pennsylvania, United States. The company operated stores under the Fisher's Big Wheel and Buy Smart names. At its peak, the chain comp ...
, Zayre, Bradlees, Caldor,
Jamesway Jamesway Corporation, more commonly known as Jamesway, was a chain of Discount store, discount department stores based in Secaucus, New Jersey. It was founded in 1961 with a single store in Jamestown, New York, ultimately growing into a chain tha ...
,
Howard Brothers Discount Stores Howard Brothers Discount Stores (informally known as Howard Brothers and Howard's) was a chain of discount stores in the Southeastern United States. The chain was founded in 1959 by Alton Hardy Howard and W. L. "Jack" Howard, a five-term mayor of ...
,
Kuhn's-Big K Kuhn's-Big K, (typically signed as simply Big K) was a large discount store chain in the Southeastern United States that merged with Walmart in 1981 The store is entirely unrelated to, and preceded, Big Kmart History Kuhn's-Big K began in 1913 ...
(sold to
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
in 1981), TG&Y and
Woolco Woolco was an American-based discount retail chain. It was founded in 1962 in Columbus, Ohio, by the F. W. Woolworth Company. It was a full-line discount department store unlike the five-and-dime Woolworth stores which operated at the time. At its ...
(closed in 1983, part sold to Wal-Mart) among others.
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
, Kmart, and
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
all opened their first locations in 1962. Kmart was a venture of
S. S. Kresge Company S is the nineteenth letter of the English alphabet. S may also refer to: History * an Anglo-Saxon charter's number in Peter Sawyer (historian), Peter Sawyer's, catalogue Language and linguistics * Long s (ſ), a form of the lower-case letter s ...
that was a major operator of
dime stores A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, automotive parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of groceries. It us ...
. Other retail companies branched out into the discount store business around that time as adjuncts to their older store concepts. As examples, Woolworth opened a
Woolco Woolco was an American-based discount retail chain. It was founded in 1962 in Columbus, Ohio, by the F. W. Woolworth Company. It was a full-line discount department store unlike the five-and-dime Woolworth stores which operated at the time. At its ...
chain (also in 1962);
Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curren ...
opened
Jefferson Ward Jefferson may refer to: Names * Jefferson (surname) * Jefferson (given name) People * Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States * Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian footb ...
; Chicago-based Jewel launched
Turn Style Turn Style was a chain of discount department stores and was a division of Chicago-based Jewel, the parent company of the Jewel Food Stores supermarket chain. Some mid-western Turn Styles had an Osco Pharmacy, at the time very uncommon for a d ...
; and Central Indiana-based
L. S. Ayres L. S. Ayres and Company was a department store based in Indianapolis, Indiana, and founded in 1872 by Lyman S. Ayres. Over the years its Indianapolis flagship store, which opened in 1905 and was later enlarged, became known for its women's fas ...
created
Ayr-Way L. S. Ayres and Company was a department store based in Indianapolis, Indiana, and founded in 1872 by Lyman S. Ayres. Over the years its Indianapolis flagship store, which opened in 1905 and was later enlarged, became known for its women's fas ...
.
J. C. Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Girl ...
opened discount stores called Treasure Island or The Treasury, Sheboygan, Wisconsin based
H. C. Prange Co. H. C. Prange Co., sometimes shortened to Prange's, was an American department store chain begun by H. C. Prange in 1887 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. At its peak, it operated stores in the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan. It also operated d ...
opened a chain of discount stores called
Prange Way H. C. Prange Co., sometimes shortened to Prange's, was an American department store chain begun by H. C. Prange in 1887 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. At its peak, it operated stores in the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan. It also operated d ...
, and Atlanta-based Rich's owned discount stores called
Richway Richway was the discount department store division of Atlanta-based Rich's. It was originally part of Rich's, and was later bought by Federated Department Stores when they purchased the Rich's chain. It was originally known as Richway, a Rich' ...
. During the late 1970s and the 1980s, these chains typically were either shut down or sold to a larger competitor. Kmart and Target themselves are examples of adjuncts, although their growth prompted their respective parent companies to abandon their older concepts (the
S. S. Kresge Sebastian Spering Kresge (July 31, 1867 – October 18, 1966) was an American businessman. He created and owned two chains of department stores, the S. S. Kresge Company, one of the 20th century's largest discount retail organizations, and the ...
five and dime A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, automotive parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of groceries. It us ...
store disappeared, while the
Dayton-Hudson Corporation Target Corporation (doing business as Target and stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American big box department store chain headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh largest retailer in the United States, and a compon ...
eventually divested itself of its department store holdings and renamed itself Target Corporation). In the United States, discount stores had 42% of overall retail market share in 1987; in 2010, they had 87%. Many of the major discounters now operate " supercenters", which add a full-service grocery store to the traditional format. The Meijer chain in the Midwest consists entirely of supercenters, while Wal-Mart and Target have focused on the format as of the 1990s as a key to their continued growth. Although discount stores and department stores have different retailing goals and different markets, a recent development in retailing is the "discount department store", such as
Sears Essentials Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began as ...
, which is a combination of the Kmart and Sears formats, after the companies' merger as
Sears Holdings Corporation Sears Holdings Corporation was an American holding company headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. It was the parent company of the chain stores Kmart and Sears and was founded after the former purchased the latter in 2005. It was the 20th-l ...
.


Canada

Woolworths Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...
entered Canada in the 1920s, the stores were converted to the
Foot Locker Foot Locker Retail, Inc. is an Americans, American sportswear and footwear retailer, with its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and operating in 28 countries. Although established in 1974, and founded as a separate company in ...
,
Champs Sports Champs Sports is an American sports retail store, it operates as a subsidiary of Foot Locker. Products sold at Champs Sports include apparel, equipment, footwear, and accessories. As of June 2019, there were 540 store locations found throughout ...
and other stores in 1994.
Kresge's Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was inco ...
, a competitor to Woolworth's entered the Canadian market in 1929. Zellers was founded in 1931, and was acquired by the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...
in 1978.
Giant Tiger Giant Tiger Stores Limited is a Canadian discount store chain which operates over 260 stores across Canada. The company's stores operate under the Giant Tiger banner in Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island ...
opened its first store in
Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
in 1961, modeled on
Woolworths Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...
. Winners was founded in 1982 in Toronto, and sells off-price brand clothing.
Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...
entered Canada in 1986. In 1990, the American chain
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
purchased the
Woolco Woolco was an American-based discount retail chain. It was founded in 1962 in Columbus, Ohio, by the F. W. Woolworth Company. It was a full-line discount department store unlike the five-and-dime Woolworth stores which operated at the time. At its ...
chain in Canada, and converted the stores to Walmarts. Dollarama was founded in Quebec in 1992. In 1998, Zellers bought out Kmart Canada, taking over its stores. In 2011, Marshalls, owned by the American TJX Companies, entered Canada, and Zellers sold most of its stores to
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
. Target Canada filed for bankruptcy in 2015, selling its stores to
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
,
Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. (), often shortened to Lowe's, is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States and Canada. A ...
and
Canadian Tire Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited is a Canadian retail company which operates in the automotive, hardware, sports, leisure and housewares sectors. Its Canadian operations include: Canadian Tire (including Canadian Tire Petroleum gas stations a ...
. In 2016, the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...
started opening Saks Off 5th locations to sell off-price brands. American off-price chain Nordstrom Rack opened its first Canadian location in
Vaughan Mills Vaughan Mills is a regional outlet mall located at the southeast quadrant of the Highway 400 and Rutherford Road interchange in Vaughan, Ontario, just south of Canada's Wonderland. It is one of the largest enclosed shopping centres in Canada, ...
in 2018.


Transnationals

*
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
* BİM *
Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...
* Daiso * Dia (supermarket chain) * Lidl *
Netto (store) Netto () is a Danish discount supermarket operating in Denmark, Germany, Poland, and previously in Sweden and the United Kingdom both as a stand-alone venture, until its sale in May 2010 to Asda, and via a joint venture with Sainsbury's between ...
*
Penny A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...
* TJX Companies * Usave *
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...


By country

Outside the United States and Canada, the main discount store chains listed by country are as follows:


Australia

*
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
*
Big W Big W (stylized as BIG W) is an Australian chain of discount department stores, which was founded in regional New South Wales in 1964. The company is a division of Woolworths Group and as at 2019 operated 176 stores, with around 22,000 employee ...
, Kmart,
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
,
The Reject Shop The Reject Shop Limited () is an Australian discount variety store chain selling a range of goods such as food, snacks, gift cards and party, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, storage, kitchenware, homewares and seasonal items in 356 sto ...
, Cheap and Chips, Dollars and Sense, Shiploads, Red Dot.


Argentina

* Dia


Austria

* Lidl *
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
* Penny


Angola

*Usave


Belgium

*
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
* Lidl


Botswana

*Usave


Bosnia and Herzegovina

* Lidl


Brazil

* Dia (supermarket chain)


Bulgaria

* Lidl *Kam Market


Chile

*Justo y Bueno


China

*
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...


Colombia

* * ARA (Jerónimo Martins) * Dollarcity * Justo Y Bueno


Costa Rica

*Pali *Pequeno Mundo


Croatia

*Eurospin * Lidl


Cyprus

* Lidl


Czech

* Lidl


Denmark

*
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
* Lidl


Greece

* Lidl


Guatemala

*Super del Barrio *Despensa Familiar *Dollar City


Egypt

* BIM


El Salvador

* *Dollar City


Estonia

* Lidl


Eswatini

*Usave *Boxer superstores


Finland

* Lidl * HalpaHalli * Kärkkäinen *
Tokmanni Tokmanni Group Oyj is a Finnish retail chain, which is also the largest discount store chain in Finland in terms of net sales in 2019. Tokmanni is Finland's only nationwide discount store chain, and at the end of 2019 it had almost 200 stores aroun ...


Germany

Major chains of discount supermarkets in Germany are
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
, Lidl,
Netto Marken-Discount Netto Marken-Discount (also known as just Netto, formerly Plus) is a German discount supermarket chain owned by the German supermarket cooperative Edeka Group, and operates mostly in the south and west of Germany. The company reached its 1000th ...
,
Netto (store) Netto () is a Danish discount supermarket operating in Denmark, Germany, Poland, and previously in Sweden and the United Kingdom both as a stand-alone venture, until its sale in May 2010 to Asda, and via a joint venture with Sainsbury's between ...
, Norma and
Penny A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...
.


Honduras

*


Latvia

* Lidl


Hungary

*
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
* Lidl


Ireland

*
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
* Lidl


Lithuania

*
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
* Lidl


Luxembourg

*
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
* Lidl


Italy

Italy has numerous discount supermarkets, including Lidl and , the chains with the largest number of stores, and
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
, , ,
MD Discount MD S.p.A. is an Italian global discount supermarket chain, based in Gricignano di Aversa, Italy. History The company was founded in the 1994s by Patrizio Podini. The first store in MD brand was opened in September 1994 in Mugnano di Napoli. In ...
,
Penny A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...
, and .


Japan

Japan has numerous discount stores, including
Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores (warehouse club). As of 2022, Costco i ...
, Daiso,
Don Quijote (store) , also known as Don Don Donki, is a Japanese multinational discount store chain. As of 2022, it has over 160 locations throughout Japan, 15 in Singapore, 9 in Hong Kong, 5 in Thailand, 3 in Hawaii and Malaysia, 2 in Taiwan, and 1 in Macau and ...
and The Price (owned by Ito Yokado).


Malaysia

*Eco-shop *Mr Dollar


Malta

* lidl


Malawi

*Usave


Mexico

*Tiendas Neto *Tiendas 3B *Superissste *Waldo's *BodegaAurrera


Lesotho

*Usave


Morocco

* BIM


Mozambique

*Usave


Namibia

*Usave


The Netherlands

Action,
Euroland The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union A currency union (also known as monetary union) is an intergovernmental agreement that involves two or more State (polity), states sharing the same currency. These states m ...
, Solow,
Big Bazar Mirage Retail Group (formerly Blokker Holding) is a Dutch company that owns several chains of stores.
and Zeeman. In addition, the German discount supermarkets Lidl and
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
both operate in the country.


New Zealand

*PAKnSAVE


North Macedonia

* Lidl


Nicaragua

*


Peru

*Tiendas Mass


Poland

Discount supermarkets cover about 30% of food sales in Poland. Main chains include
Biedronka Biedronka is a chain of supermarkets. It is the largest chain of discount shops in Poland with 3,283 stores as of 2022 and 70,000 employees (2022). It is owned by the Portuguese group Jerónimo Martins. The name "Biedronka" means "ladybug", and a ...
, Lidl, Netto, and
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
.


Portugal

*
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
* Lidl *
Minipreço Minipreço is a discount supermarket chain in Portugal, part of the Spanish Dia, which was formerly owned by the French supermarket company Carrefour. There were 534 stores across Portugal at the start of 2011, with one third of them being franc ...
/ Dia (supermarket chain) *
Plus Plus may refer to: Mathematics * Addition * +, the mathematical sign Music * ''+'' (Ed Sheeran album), (pronounced "plus"), 2011 * ''Plus'' (Cannonball Adderley Quintet album), 1961 * ''Plus'' (Matt Nathanson EP), 2003 * ''Plus'' (Martin Ga ...
sold to Jerónimo Martins * Netto converted into
Intermarché Intermarché (English translation: Intermarket) is the brand of a general commercial French supermarket, part of the large retail group Les Mousquetaires founded in 1969 under the name EX Offices, by Jean-Pierre Le Roch. EX Offices was renamed I ...


Panama

* Justo Y Bueno


Romania

* lidl *Penny


Russia

* Dixy *
Nahodka Nakhodka ( rus, Нахо́дка, p=nɐˈxotkə) is a port city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located on the Trudny Peninsula jutting into the Nakhodka Bay of the Sea of Japan, about east of Vladivostok, the administrative center of the krai. Po ...
* Kopeyka *
Fix Price Fix Price is a Russia-based chain of discount variety stores. The chain includes 4,162 stores in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Latvia, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. The company was founded by Sergei Lomakin and Artem Khachatryan in 2007, foun ...
* Da! *Svetofor *Krasny Yar *
Chizik Eugene C. Chizik Jr. (born December 28, 1961) is an American football coach who is currently the Assistant Head Coach for Defense at North Carolina Tar Heels football, North Carolina. A veteran of the coaching ranks, Chizik previously was UNC's ...
* 365+ * Моя цена (My Price)


Serbia

* Lidl *
Svetofor Svetofor ('traffic light' in Russian) is a chain of discount supermarkets headquartered in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. The chain, owned by Torgservis, operates stores in Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and China. As of December 2019 its network comprised app ...


Slovakia

* Lidl


Slovenia

*
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
* Lidl


South Africa

*Savers Lane *Usave *Boxer Superstores


Spain

* Dia (supermarket chain) *
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
* Lidl *
Mere Mere may refer to: Places * Mere, Belgium, a village in East Flanders * Mere, Cheshire, England * Mere, Wiltshire, England People * Mere Broughton (1938–2016), New Zealand Māori language activist and unionist * Mere Smith, American televisi ...


Sweden

* Lidl


Switzerland

*
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
* Lidl


Turkey

*Şok Market *
BİM BİM Birleşik Mağazalar A.Ş. (BİM for short) is a Turkish retail company, known for offering a limited range of basic food items and consumer goods at competitive prices. Bim were the pioneers of this discount store model in Turkey. Bim's mai ...
*A101 *Hakmar *File


Ukraine

* ATB


United Kingdom

*
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
* Lidl *Farmfoods


Venezuela

*Tiendas Ovejita *Tiendas Daka


See also

* Everyday low price *
Dollar store A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, automotive parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of groceries. It us ...
(
five and dime A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, automotive parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of groceries. It us ...
, variety store) *
Hypermarket A hypermarket (sometimes called a hyperstore, supercentre or superstore) is a big-box store combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including ...
*
Warehouse club A warehouse club (or wholesale club) is a retail store, usually selling a wide variety of merchandise, in which customers may buy large, wholesale quantities of the store's products, which makes these clubs attractive to both bargain hunters ...
* No frills * Charity shop * Types of retail outlets


References


Further reading

*Nelson, Walter Henry, ''The Great Discount Delusion'', New York: D. McKay, 1965. {{DEFAULTSORT:Discount Store Retail formats