Dollar Tree has acquired the leases of 170 99 Cents Only Stores and will reopen these stores with its own products as early as fall 2024, the company announced Wednesday.
The 170 leases acquired by the company span across Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas, according to a news release. Dollar Tree also acquired the North American intellectual property of 99 Cents Only Stores, as well as some furniture, equipment and fixtures inside the stores.
"As we continue to execute on our accelerated growth strategy for the Dollar Tree brand, this was an attractive opportunity to secure leases in priority markets where we see strong profitable growth potential,” said Michael Creedon, Jr., Dollar Tree’s Chief Operating Officer, in the news release.
“The portfolio complements our existing footprint and will provide us access to high quality real estate assets in premium retail centers, enabling us to rapidly grow the Dollar Tree brand across the western United States, reaching even more customers and communities,” Creedon added.
According to the news release, Dollar Tree had operated over 16,000 stores across 48 states and five Canadian provinces as of Feb. 3, 2024. These stores operate under the brands of Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Canada.
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After over four decades in business, 99 Cents Only Stores announced last month it would close all 371 locations.
"This was an extremely difficult decision and is not the outcome we expected or hoped to achieve," interim CEO Mike Simoncic said in a news release. "Unfortunately, the last several years have presented significant and lasting challenges in the retail environment."
Simoncic said several factors contributed to the dire state of the discount store company, including the "unprecedented impact left by the COVID-19 pandemic." He also cited shifting consumer demands, inflationary pressures and rising shrinkage levels, which refers to the loss of inventory or cash from theft, damage, or administrative errors.
"We deeply appreciate the dedicated employees, customers, partners, and communities who have collectively supported 99 Cents Only Stores for decades," Simoncic said.
The company, founded in 1982, offered guests "a combination of closeout branded merchandise, general merchandise and fresh foods" initially offered at 99 cents or less.
Dollar Tree said it would raise the price cap in its stores to $7 in its fourth quarter earnings call this past March.
"This year, across 3,000 stores, we expect to expand our multi-price assortment by over 300 items at price points ranging from $1.50 to $7," Dollar Tree CEO Rick Dreiling said in the call on March 13.
A $5 cap was set in June, according to Yahoo Finance. In 2021 the company raised the base price of items to $1.25. The higher cost items will include food, pet and personal care items, though not all items will be at the $7 price cap.
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"Over time, you will also see us fully integrate multi-price merchandise more into our stores so our shoppers will find $5 bags of dog food next to our traditional $1.25 pet treats and toys, and our $3 bags of candy will be found in the candy aisle," Dreiling said.
Dollar Tree executives said on the call that the demographics of their customers trended towards higher income brackets.
"The fastest-growing demographic is north of $125,000 a year in income," said. "It's not like the Northeast is strong and the West is weak. That boat is lifting pretty even all the way up."
Contributing: Anthony Robledo & James Powel, USA TODAY
Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].