Somehow, the "$1.15 Only Store" Doesn't Have the Same Ring

Shocking news last week from the L.A. Times, which reports that the 99 Cents Only chain is mulling a new pricing structure.

After years of promising "99 Cents Only," the store -- which has been struggling as of late -- may soon become "99 Cents Frequently." That's more in line with the fake 99 (or "98") cents stores that actually offer products of varying prices. And it's a sign of these costly times:

Given the hard times many American consumers are facing, you’d think 99 Cents Only would be packing them in. The company told analysts on a conference call Thursday afternoon that although last quarter’s sales ($305 million) "grew slightly more slowly than anticipated," same-store sales were strengthening toward the end of last quarter and "have continued strengthening" in the current quarter.

Still, one analyst on the call wanted to know whether the company would consider giving itself more pricing flexibility, presumably to improve the bottom line.

The retailer already charges less than 99 cents for some stuff. But what about charging, say, $1.09 or $1.29 for certain items? the analyst asked.

If you know the chain, you know that sounds like heresy. As its website proudly proclaims: "STILL nothing over 99 cents, ever!"

Yet CEO Eric Schiffer said the idea was "definitely on the table. That is something we’re looking at . . . in the future for us. We’re looking at doing some experiments. Obviously one way [is that] you can start selling things for $1.05, $1.09, $1.15 and other ways. You could have more of a break between your 99 cents price point and the next price point."

That's a risky strategy. The thrill of the 99 Cents Only store is picking up bizarre or crappy products that you normally wouldn't buy -- but are willing to give a shot for 99 cents. If they upped the quality of their fare, perhaps that would be one thing. But I'm guessing the quality wouldn't change -- just the price.