by Chris Black
Companies planned 15-20% price hikes last fall for this spring and summer. Instead of hitting the shelf with that, they added an additional 20%.
An $18 product was supposed to go to $22, but landed at $25. Two Dollar Tree stores near me closed. Killed by inflation and $15 minimum wage. With two employees the store has to sell 40 items and hour just to pay for the employees. Remember, the company has to pay SS tax on top of wages. The economics don’t work anymore.
Five Below is rapidly becoming Twenty Below. The store hardly offers anything other than food and candy below $5. I’ve actually seen things at the store priced higher than other retailers.
Value meals have all blown by $10 at most fast food chains. Effing Chipotle is $12 for just the burrito now. Sorry but a tortilla filled with 90% rice isn’t worth $12. With drinks and chips you are looking at $50 to feed three people at a fast food Mexican place. I went to Frank Pepe’s to get a pizza and just walked out. The price of a medium pizza with two toppings is now $30. It is good pizza, but it is pizza. Even with the recent inflationary crap, that is insane.
Did you get a 30-40% raise last year? I sure didn’t.
Pretty soon the $200 cups of coffee in Weimar is going to look like a deal.
David Stockman on Inflationary Hell That’s About to Break Loose t.co/RZnEBAffTc
— strategy49 (@strategy49) April 21, 2022