Leading dollar stores in Canada by store count 2018

Dollarama, the Canadian owned retail chain headquartered in Montreal, was the leading dollar store in Canada as of January 2018, with 1,160 locations. Trailing in second and third places came Dollar Tree and Dollar Store with More, with 224 and 114 store locations respectively in Canada at that time.

Dollarama origins

In 1992, the first Dollarama store was opened in Quebec by Larry Rossy. The concept was simple: all items were on sale for one dollar or less. The retail chain expanded throughout Canada in the coming years, and their annual sales reached around 3.55 billion Canadian dollars in the fiscal year ending January 28, 2019. Along with an expanse in their number of stores and revenues, Dollarama’s in-store offerings have also diversified, with the introduction of new price points above one dollar throughout the years. In 2019, general merchandise accounted for 43 percent of Dollarama’s product offerings.

Discount shopping behavior in Canada

According to a recent survey, almost 90 percent of Canadian respondents stated that Dollarama was a discount store which they frequently visited. Food and beverage and household care are two product categories where price is a leading purchase consideration for more than 50 percent of survey respondents. (1043048)