Kitschy Shopping News

Daiso Japan revs up discount shopping in Dallas-Fort Worth

Daiso is a shopping playground.

Photo courtesy of Daiso Japan

The extremely fun Daiso Japan, known for selling quality items for $1.50, is opening another store in the DFW area, this time in Arlington, at 3811 S. Cooper St., next to Nordstrom Rack. The store will celebrate a grand opening on May 5-6.

The is is the fifth Daiso store to open in Texas, but it's still very big exciting news for shoppers. The four other branches are all in the DFW area: Carrollton, Irving, Plano, and most recently, Fort Worth. Daiso, where is the store for Dallas?

The Arlington opening promises to be a family-friendly event with music, vendor sampling, goodie bags, raffles, and great shopping. Goodie bags will be given to the first 100 customers with receipt on May 5 and 6. Raffle prizes include a Dyson Cordless Vacuum Cleaner, an iPad Mini, a K-Cup Brewer, two $100 VISA cards and a $50 gas card. Winners will be announced on May 6 at 5 pm in front of the store; winning numbers also will be posted at the store and on the Daiso Japan USA Facebook page for two weeks.

Daiso carries thousands of quality products, ranging from kitchenware, beauty supplies, stationery, wrapping paper, electronic accessories, and everyday sundries. Shoppers will find novel, unique gift items, greeting cards, and party favors for every occasion. Most items are $1.50.

More than just a value store, Daiso's goal is to put the fun back into shopping in a budget-friendly way, with useful and unique products that meet the needs of every shopper in the household, from spring cleaning and household sundries to a growing list of specialty food items.

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First-rate idea

Goodwill transforms former Plano Walgreens into first small-format store

Photo courtesy of Goodwill

An old Walgreens has become a new Goodwill store in Plano.

Leave it to Goodwill to find a second use for a former Walgreens. The nonprofit is transforming a vacant drugstore building in Plano into its first ever, small-format store.

According to a release, Goodwill Industries of Dallas will debut the first-of-its-kind store at 3000 McDermott Rd., Plano, on Thursday, August 6.

The organization has converted the former pharmacy into a 10,000-square-foot thrift store and donation center. For comparison, that's less than one-third of the size of the massive, 31,000-square-foot "Broadway store" that opened in Garland earlier this year as the largest Goodwill in Texas and the second largest in the U.S.

The nonprofit says the new concept is designed to serve neighborhoods with a smaller footprint while still offering a steady flow of merchandise. Shoppers can expect about 5,000 new items to hit the sales floor each day, ranging from clothing and housewares to books, toys, and other donated goods.

It's also a creative example of "adaptive reuse" for one of the many drugstores have have shuttered in recent years around Dallas-Fort Worth. (CVS, are you listening?)

The Plano location will create 70 jobs, they say, and include a donation center where residents can drop off gently used items to support Goodwill's workforce development programs.

The opening comes as resale shopping continues to surge nationwide, Goodwill notes. According to the 2024 ThredUp Resale Report, the U.S. secondhand market grew 11 percent in 2023 — seven times faster than the broader retail clothing industry — and is projected to reach $73 billion by 2028.

"This store is a blueprint for how Goodwill Dallas turns vacant spaces into neighborhood assets, creating jobs, funding workforce development, and keeping quality goods accessible to families who need them most," Goodwill Industries of Dallas president and CEO Tim Heis says in the release.

The timing is also fortuitous for shoppers: The store will debut just ahead of Texas' 2026 Tax-Free Weekend, August 7-9, which will offer clothing, footwear, school supplies, backpacks without state sales tax.

Once doors on August 6, open the Plano store will operate 9 am-9 pm Monday-Saturday and 10 am-7 pm Sunday.

Goodwill Industries of Dallas has served North Texas since 1923, using proceeds from its retail stores to fund free job training, employment placement, and career services for people facing barriers to employment across eight North Texas counties.

plano thrift store goodwill preservation shopping