Right now, there’s one company that is living proof of the saying: “There’s always a silver lining to every cloud.” Because while poorly run companies such as Circuit City (NYSE: CC) have a good chance of collapsing, discount stores such as the smiley face-wielding, price-chopping Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) are doing better than ever.

Personally, I prefer Target (NYSE: TGT) to Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart to K-Mart, but it looks like the overwhelming majority of American consumers are choosing my middle option when it comes to making their discount shopping runs.

There’s good reason for that too. Target might be considered a little more classy and trendy, but it’s also a little more expensive. And while the U.S. is cutting corners when it comes to cost, every bit counts. They might not be shopping any less, but they’re definitely changing where they shop.

K-Mart is even cheaper, but let’s face it: it’s not very inviting. For one thing, the stores are usually in some undesirable state of disrepair half the time. And it doesn’t have the one-stop shopping reputation that Wal-Mart Super Centers boasts. Need something nice for church, ingredients for the next few dinners and another set of weights (because you’re going to keep your New Year resolutions this time… really)? Well, you can do it in just one trip instead of wasting time, gas and money going to three different places.

See the appeal? If so, you’re not alone.

Wal-Mart hasn’t been performing all that well over the past nine years, with its stock dropping in over half of them. Last year was definitely an exception however, and this year is likely to hold more of the same. In fact, this year it might perform even better than in ‘08 since the economy is likely to suffer into at least the summer.

And who knows? Maybe the discount chain will gain some loyal customers from this point forward.