Family Dollar, Dollar Tree Plan To Close Roughly 1,000 Stores

ACROSS AMERICA — About 1,000 Family Dollar and Dollar Tree stores will close, their parent company said Wednesday.

Dollar Tree, Inc. announced the planned closures in its results report for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2023, estimating that about 600 Family Dollar stores will close this year, and an additional 370 Family Dollar and 30 Dollar Tree stores will close over the next several years.

Family Dollar has around 8,000 stores in the United States, and Dollar Tree operates more than 15,00 stores around the country.

The announcement comes after the company said late last year it would review and optimize its portfolio to identify struggling stores for closure, relocation, or re-bannering.

Rick Dreiling, chairman and CEO of Dollar Tree, told analysts in a call Wednesday that "persistent inflation and reduced government benefits continue to pressure the lower-income consumers," who make up a large share of Family Dollar’s customer base.

Dollar Tree shares fell more than 13 percent to their lowest level this year Wednesday morning, CNN reported.

"We finished the year strong, with fourth quarter results reflecting positive traffic trends, market share gains, and adjusted margin improvement across both segments," Dowling said in a statement. "While we are still in the early stages of our transformation journey, I am proud of what our team accomplished in 2023 and see a long runway of growth ahead of us."

Dollar Tree said it opened 219 new stores in the fourth quarter, and 641 total in 2023.

Family Dollar sells bargain goods including household cleaners, foods, health and beauty products, toys and clothes. Most items in the stores can be bought for less than $10. But the struggling retailer was bought by Dollar Tree in 2015.

The discount stores have faced challenges in recent years, with Family Dollar saying in 2019 it would close hundreds of stores. Last month, Family Dollar was fined a record $42 million after federal officials said the discount retailer stored food, drugs and other items in unsanitary conditions, including a rodent-infested distribution center.