When we were invited there to a book launch party for the travelogue "Waiting For Foreign", edited by Veronique de Turenne and J. Michael Walker, I wanted to come up with a unique dish to commemorate the occasion, thus The Loxaco was born.Vasquez cured the salmon himself, but splurged on the item. The rest of the ingredients -- ed onion, tomato, cream cheese and taco shells (or corn tortillas) -- came from the 99 Cents store.
The move seems to be riling some customers who say they weren't aware of the nearly one-cent increase and felt duped into believing they were still paying 99 cents "only." Because U.S. currency makes it impossible to pay 99.99 cents for an item, shoppers are essentially paying $1 plus tax at the cash register.
Now the company faces two class-action lawsuits that were filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court this month. The complaints allege unfair and deceptive business practices and misleading advertising.
"If they call themselves 99 Cents Only, it should be 99 cents," said Dan Callahan, an Orange County lawyer. "We had a survey done before we filed the lawsuit to see how many people thought they were paying 99 cents, and it was just about unanimous that nobody realized that they were paying more than 99 cents. The people who go to that store are typically lower income or seniors, so the people they're taking advantage of are the ones least able to discern the difference and least able to afford it."
The lawsuits are asking for unspecified monetary compensation and contend that 99 Cents Only should have been more clear in its advertising. A judge will decide whether the cases can proceed as class-action suits.
The Chef struck white liquid gold at his local 99.99c only Store yesterday; an abundance of wine "Deals of the Day". There are 5 different white wines to choose from right now -- Reviewed white wines are: Yelcho, Chilean Sauvignon Blanc - Queen of Hearts, Los Alamos Chardonnay - Linden Estates, North Coast Chardonnay - Thirsty Fish, Central Coast Chardonnay.
"We've absorbed it for as long as we can and as hard as we can, but we've reached a point where we can't absorb it anymore, and we have to do something," said Chief Executive Eric Schiffer. "This will give us plenty of breathing room."
Based on last year's sales, Schiffer estimated that the chain would take in an extra $12 million at the cash register.
Industry analyst Karen Short said changes like this were often essential.
"We've had a pretty abnormal inflationary period, and sticking to their strategy of 99 cents only becomes more challenging when prices are as volatile as they are," said Short, an analyst with Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co.
"Changing prices on items is not an attempt to move away from the strategy of helping the consumer. It's out of necessity."
The announcement was expected after the retailer -- faced with fast-rising inflation, soaring food and fuel prices and a higher minimum wage -- said last month that it was reevaluating its long-standing price strategy after two consecutive quarterly losses.
Founded in 1982 by Chairman David Gold, 99 Cents Only pioneered the single-price retail concept. The chain opened its first store in Los Angeles and has since expanded to 277 locations, mostly in California but also in Nevada, Arizona and Texas...
But capping prices at 99 cents plus tax had become a burden for the retailer, which had to adjust the size or quantity of many of its offerings -- including milk and eggs -- to keep them on store shelves. The strict price strategy also led to the inability to carry some high-demand items, such as butter, on a regular basis.
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."
