Dollar Tree to close 390 Family Dollar stores in 2019

Business Insider ^ | March 6, 2019 | Mary Hanburg

[buckalfa]

Dollar Tree announced early Wednesday morning during its fourth-quarter earnings results that it will be closing as many as 390 of its Family Dollar stores in 2019 and remodeling 200 locations to become Dollar Tree stores. This follows on from 85 store closings at the chain during the fourth quarter of 2018. It has been three years since Dollar Tree bought Family Dollar, and analysts say that so far, it's been a disappointing run. The discount chain, which has more than 8,000 stores in the United States, has pulled down its parent company's earnings over the past few years. In its most recent results, same-store sales at Dollar Tree only were up 3.2%. Family Dollar saw a more modest increase of 1.4%. Family Dollar "remains the weaker part of the business," Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail, said in a note to clients in November. He continued: "From our data, a high proportion of Family Dollar's shopper base goes there out of necessity rather than because they particularly want to. There is nothing wrong with this position, but it does mean that as financial conditions improve, or people feel they can afford something better, they are more likely to migrate away." Dollar Tree acquired Family Dollar in 2015, after undergoing a bidding war with Dollar General, its main US rival. Dollar Tree and Dollar General are almost neck-and-neck in terms of store count and annual sales.

[Tired of Taxes]

That’s what we do - there’s a dollar store at our favorite beach. Instead of paying high prices at the tourist-y shops, we hit the dollar store for sunscreen, snacks, etc. :-)