A rival has saved nearly a dozen 99 Cents Only stores from closing.
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet has stepped in to buy 11 stores from the now-bankrupt company, and will open under a new brand after the old stores finally closed in early June. See the full list below.
Discount retailer 99 Cents Only announced on April 4 that it would close its 371 locations. He blamed high inflation and increased theft.
A week later, the West Coast brand, which has stores in California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Since then it has been liquidating stock. Die-hard 99 Cents Only shoppers have been flocking to California stores and clearing shelves to snap up bargains.
Half of 99 Cents Only stores set to close could be saved as another chain looks to buy the brand
Ollie’s said all 11 99 Cents stores are in “key markets” in Texas.
The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved the purchase for $14.6 million in cash last Thursday.
“We are very excited to be announced as the winning bidder for these store locations,” Ollie CEO John Swygert said in a statement.
‘These stores are the right size, are located in good shopping areas, have attractive rents and leasing structures and have been serving value-oriented customers for many years.
“Texas is a great market for us that has tremendous growth potential and continues to benefit from strong population growth.”
Pennsylvania-based Ollie’s operates 516 stores in 30 states.
99 Dollar Stores has more than 40 in Texas, including four in Dallas and two in Fort Worth.
See the chart below or to the right for the full list of stores that have been saved, including three in Houston, one in Dallas and one in San Antonio.
Dollar and budget stores have had a tough year. While all stores are struggling to keep up with inflation, it hits value retailers the hardest due to their already tight margins.
Dollar Tree said last month it was raising the maximum price on its products to $7.
The company also owns Family Dollar and plans to close nearly 1,000 of them: 600 this year and the rest when the leases end.
Meanwhile, Trader Joe’s has raised the price of a single banana from 19 cents to 23 cents, the first time it has done so in decades.
The closures of 99 Cents and Damily Dollar come amid a widespread “retail apocalypse” as brick-and-mortar stores struggle to combat rampant theft and increasingly tight margins.
By the end of April, US retailers had announced the closure of nearly 2,600 stores in 2024, just four months into the year.
In recent months, there have been a series of bankruptcies in addition to store closures.
National luxury coffee and grocery chain Foxtrot also said in early April that it will close all of its stores with immediate effect, leaving staff and customers stunned.
Foxtrot, which was established in 2014 in Chicago, had 33 locations in the Chicago, Austin, Dallas and Washington DC areas.
Express, another mall staple, filed for bankruptcy in April and said it would close 95 Express outlets along with all of its UpWest stores.
Dollar Tree will recently close nearly 1,000 stores while raising its price cap.
Rue21 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early May and will close its 543 stores
In early May, Rue21, the teen fashion chain that is a fixture in malls across the United States, also said it would close all of its 543 U.S. stores.
Customers have been able to close deals while the company liquidates its stock. At its peak, it had 1,200 stores.
The bosses tried to sell the chain, but none of the offers would raise as much money as closing and selling all shares. court documents say.
Die-hard 99 Cents Only shoppers have been flocking to California stores and clearing shelves to snap up bargains.
