Dollar Tree has saved 170 stores that rival 99 Cents Only was going to close after it went bankrupt.
It’s a boost for budget shoppers in Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas, who have been mourning the loss of the popular chain.
Dollar Tree announced Wednesday that it had purchased the lease rights to the stores.
At the same time, it has paid for the ‘intellectual property’ of 99 Cents Only, meaning it has the option of keeping some stores open under the brand or even opening new ones using it.
99 Cents Only, based on the West Coast, had a cult following in all four states. But high inflation and increased theft forced it to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announce the closure of its 371 locations.
Dollar Tree bought the leases for 170 of the closed stores from bankrupt 99 Cents Only Stores. This is the store in Hudson, New York.
Loyal shoppers saw 99 Cents Only stores flood into stores in April as the chain prepared to close operations. Pictured: A store in Torrance at 5130 W 190th Street
Since then it has been liquidating stock. Die-hard 99 Cents Only shoppers have been flocking to stores and clearing shelves to snap up bargains.
“As we continue to execute our accelerated growth strategy for the Dollar Tree brand, this was an attractive opportunity to secure leases in priority markets where we see strong potential for profitable growth,” said Michael Creedon Jr, Dollar Tree’s chief operating officer.
He said the 99 Cents Only locations allow Dollar Tree to have stores in “premium retail centers” where it currently has no stores.
“It allows us to quickly grow the Dollar Tree brand throughout the Western United States, reaching even more customers and communities,” he added.
Dollar Tree plans to open in these new locations starting in fall 2024. It hasn’t released addresses for all 170 yet, but we’ll update this article when we know.
Meanwhile, discount chain Ollie’s announced earlier this week that it will acquire 11 former 99 Cents Only stores in Texas for $14.6 million in cash. See below for full addresses of these.
“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.
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.
Ollie’s Bargain Outlets is purchasing 11 of the closed 99 Cents Only Stores
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.
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.
