With over 46 million Americans on food stamps, price-conscious shoppers have been flocking to the discount stores.
It's a profitable and steady niche in what has become a "food stamp economy."
It's lead by the big-box discounters such as Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) on one end and a trio of high-rising "dollar" stores at the other –Family Dollar Stores (NYSE: FDO), Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR) and Dollar General (NYSE:DG).
Since the start of the financial crisis, all of these discounters have seen their share prices skyrocket as consumers work overtime to stretch each and every dollar.
My favorite company in this group is Dollar General Corp., which has seen its share price climb by 129% since its IPO in November 2009.
The question, of course, is whether or not Dollar General still has what it takes to stay in Wall Street's good graces and keep on growing.
Part of that answer depends on what your perception is about the overall state of the U.S. economy. The data is certainly a mixed bag.
But what I can tell you about Dollar General is how it differentiates itself from the competition and how the discounter will be able to hang on to shoppers even when the economy turns.
Here's why I like this company so much…