Jill Cataldo

After last week's article, "What is SuperValu doing to Jewel-Osco?" about changes to stocking, pricing and sales cycles at Jewel (which, if you haven't read already, I encourage you to) a reader wrote to share another interesting shopping-related story with me.

Thursday's issue of Business Week has a great article on dollar stores and the current economy. As consumers tighten their belts, many are understandably heading to the dollar store. Dollar stores have long been purveyors of inexpensive, privately-labeled house brands, but the biggest increase in sales at the dollar stores lately? Name-brand products.

While the parent company of Chicagoland's largest grocer cuts inventory on its national brands, ultimately aiming for 20% private-labeled house brand penetration to fill that inventory gap, chains like Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and Family Dollar are enjoying an upswing in sales on name-brand groceries and household items, and they're quickly moving to stock more of them: