99 Cents Only stores announced Thursday that all 371 locations will close within two months, leaving communities like Green Valley and Sahuarita with fewer low-cost retail options.
The announcement came in a statement by interim CEO Mike Simoncic, who said the stores will begin an “orderly wind-down of its business operations" with liquidations starting immediately.
The company cited unprecedented impacts from COVID-19, shifting consumer demand, inflation and an increase in shrinkage — the loss of inventory due to shoplifting, employee theft or administrative error.
Sahuarita and Green Valley will left with fewer options for low-cost shopping when the store closes.
Brianna McCord Green Valley News
99 Cents Only stores, founded in 1982, operate in Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas. The Sahuarita location in Madera Marketplace east of Walmart will close June 3.
Sharon Coustier, who has been shopping at the local store since it opened in 2008, is shocked by the news.
“I’m very surprised because this is a nice store for people, especially in this particular area,” she said Friday. “You've got young couples with children that are on fixed incomes, and mostly the seniors. I see a lot of people from my church shopping here. It’s sad. I wish that it wasn't closing. This is the area that we need these types of places.”
Coustier shops at the 99 Cents Only store weekly and buys a majority of her groceries and seasonal treats for her Bible study group there.
“I buy produce, I buy paper products. When I'm out of certain canned goods, I'll buy that," she said. "That’s pretty much staples for people out here.”
Sandy McInnis is a winter visitor to Green Valley from October to April, but when she is here, she shops at the store twice a week.
“I find it kind of a shock because nobody knew they were really in jeopardy,” McInnis said. “You get to know the days they get the bread delivery and the vegetable deliveries. I come in to get a fair price on melons, berries and whatever.”
She also gets paper products, such as Kleenex and toilet paper, from the small store, but by the time she returns to Green Valley, the store will be closed.
“I'll miss it when we come back here in October,” she said. “I prefer shopping in, honestly, a little smaller store than going into Walmart, which is a zoo and half of it is frozen food.”
But Walmart will be one of the few places left for residents to shop for bargains, though Coustier isn’t fond of the idea.
“I don't care for Walmart's produce,” she said. “I’d go to Safeway for that then, and that's really expensive.”
Other alternatives in the area are Dollar Tree west of Ross Dress for Less, Dollar General in Amado and Family Dollar in Rio Rico. Tucson Spectrum about 15 miles north of Sahuarita, has a Dollar Tree and a Five Below store.
“I think everybody would go to the Dollar Tree because if this is gone, there's nothing else that is worth our while to shop at,” Coustier said.
On the other hand, Linda Bleisch said even though she's been shopping at the store twice weekly for about eight years, she won’t miss it.
“You have to understand the nature of the concept of the store,” she said. “It's not the freshest produce. I don’t want to use the word leftovers, but it's the bad stuff. It's still junkier, lower quality. It's a lot of cheap stuff, like one-time-use stuff, so understanding that concept, I won't be sad.”
Bleisch said for those who need it, the store’s low prices are a good idea, but not sustainable.
“I think for lower-income people who are getting the bargains, that would be unfortunate for them,” she said.
“To me, the concept of 99 cents should somehow keep it at 99 cents, but I know you can't survive on that concept. Prices do have to go up and I don’t know how they could balance that. There aren't a lot of places that are 99 cents anymore and we just have to accept it and pay for it.”
Coustier also understands why the store is closing, but is concerned about the employees.
“I understand that they have to do something because even though things are cheap, they have to pay more on their end for these items to get shipped out here and bought,” she said. “I just feel really bad they're going to be closing. And the staff, what's gonna happen to them?”
According to the Los Angeles Times, 99 Cents Only has about 14,000 employees.
A manager at Sahuarita's 99 Cents Only store declined to comment Friday.
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