Discount stores Family Dollar and Dollar Tree will close 1,000 stores as the leases on their buildings expire.
Family Dollar is set to close 600 locations in 2024 and another 370 stores over the next several years as the leases lapse, while Dollar Tree will close 30 stores. The closures amount to roughly 6% of their total business.
Dollar Tree became the parent company of Family Dollar after purchasing the chain for more than $8 billion in 2015.
“Our biggest problem right now is getting enough merchandise into the stores fast enough so the consumer can respond,” CEO Rick Dreiling said.
The closures will put a pinch on the company’s customer base, who have increasingly turned to discount stores for groceries and other essentials.
In recent years, product safety issues have caused trouble for the brand. A Family Dollar distribution facility in Arkansas closed in 2022 after it became infested with rats. The company issued a massive recall and was fined more than $41 million by the Justice Department.
The company opened a total of 641 locations in the last fiscal year and currently has a total of 16,774 stores between the two brands in the U.S. and Canada. Rival retailer Dollar General is the fastest-growing store brand in the U.S., with over approximately 18,000 locations.
https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/03/13/family-dollar-tree-stores-closing/