They stay in business courtesy of government programs to keep people afloat enough to afford basic necessities, and by negotiating to pay reduced or no local ta

They stay in business courtesy of government programs to keep people afloat enough to afford basic necessities, and by negotiating to pay reduced or no local taxes or infrastructure costs, coupled with relocating stores any time a tax-break deal expires. As long as you don't have to pay a living wage (because the government picks up the difference) and don't have to pay the cost of building and maintaining the infrastructure of your store (because the government picks up the difference), you can "sustain" an otherwise-unprofitable business for quite a long time.