Pick 13 - Dollar Tree

On this the Eve of Independence Day, I am looking for hidden value in the American Flag. Since I had to retire my old tattered flag, I purchased a new one today. I now live on a fixed income so it is nothing fancy or expensive, nor does it have any history like having been flown over the Capital Building for an hour. It is just a standard, store bought, 12 inch by 18 inch "United States Flag" It is not made of cotton but apparently nylon and some other fibers. The attached tag does not tell me. But that is not the hidden value I am seeking.

As I inspected the tag I found that this flag is "Made in China" and "Imported by Greenbrier International Inc. of 500 Volvo Parkway, Chesapeake, VA 13320". That message also appears in French and my guess is that these same flags are also sold to our Canadian friends. I decided to check out the heritage of Greenbriar International and discovered that it is an entity of  Dollar Tree Inc 500 Volvo Parkway, Chesapeake, VA.

While I balked at purchasing an American Flag that was made in China, I learned from the Dollar Tree website that its origins go back to 1953 when K.R Perry opened the first Ben Franklin variety store in Norfolk, VA. When he expanded, he changed the name to K&K 5&10 cents store. Back in those days, you could actually buy useful products Made in USA for pocket change. Today, the Dollar Tree corporation is global, traded on NASDAQ as "DLTR" and recently declared a 2 for 1 stock split. It employees a lot of Americans at a time when the flex hours and modest benefits it offers employees make the difference needed to sustain themselves in these dire times. Ben Franklin would definitely approve of their business model and in the context of the new normal might conclude: "A dollar saved is a dollar earned."

$tokens to Tip the Pickers

1 $token - 1.00 USD3 $tokens - 3.00 USD5 $tokens - 5 USD 12345