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99 Cents Only Hikes Prices, But Only by 0.99 Cent

Discount chain follows 2 bum quarters with extra 99% of a penny

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 9, 2008 2:52 PM CDT

(Newser) – The store where nothing costs more than 99¢ has become the store where nothing costs more than 99.99¢, reports the LA Times. The top price at 99 Cents Only will go up by 99/100 of a penny this month, say executives at the discount chain, who blame inflationary pressures. The move is expected to earn the chain an extra $12 million.

The chain said last month it was being forced to rethink its pricing strategy after losing money in two consecutive quarters. 99 Cents Only has never sold an item for over a dollar in its 26-year history, but it had been increasingly forced to limit what it sold to keep prices down. The chain has no plans to change the name of its 277 stores, most of which are in Southern California.

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Don Ostrov, 84, from Beverly Hills, Calif., shops at a 99 Cents Only Store in Los Angeles Monday, Sept 8, 2008. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Customer Michele White, left, talks with cashier Keyla Gaitan, right at the 99 Cents Only Store in Los Angeles on Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

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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. This will give us plenty of breathing room. - Eric Schiffer, chief executive of 99 Cents Only

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99 Cents Only Hikes Prices, But Only by 0.99 Cent