Yahoo Finance Dollar Tree Is Taking Over Nearly 200 Recently Closed 99 Cents Only Stores
The move comes two months after all 370 99 Cents Only locations shut their doors
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Dollar Tree location in Houston, TexasAlmost half of the 99 Cent Only stores that closed earlier this year when the company went out of business are about to get a new life.
On Wednesday, May 29, Dollar Tree announced that it had acquired designation rights for 170 locations of 99 Cent Only stores across Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas — with some expected to open as early as fall 2024.
The move comes just a month after 99 Cent Only closed all of its 371 stores, with executives citing changing economic conditions as the reason.
99 Cents Only Stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April, before initiating "a process to dispose of its assets, including its inventory, owned real estate and store leases," per the announcement from Dollar Tree.
The move "was an attractive opportunity" for the company to get their stores into "priority markets," according to Dollar Tree’s CEO Michael Creedon, Jr.
Related: Dollar Tree Raises Price Cap to $7: See Which Items Will Get Price Hikes
As of February 2024, Dollar Tree operated 16,774 locations across North America (in 48 states and Canada), under its Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and Dollar Tree Canada brands.
Per the company's announcement, it's purchase of the 99 Cents Only locations was approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. It now owns the North American Intellectual Property of 99 Cents Only stores, as well as various "furniture, fixtures and equipment."
99 Cents Only's then-interim CEO Michael Simoncic called the decision to close its stores in April "not the outcome we expected or hoped to achieve," citing the "unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting consumer demand, and rising levels of shrink" among other reasons as the cause. "Shrink" refers to inventory loss due to shoplifting, employee theft, vendor fraud and administrative errors.
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The first 99 Cents Only store opened in 1982 and at the time of the closures, the company employed 14,000 workers, per KTLA.
"We deeply appreciate the dedicated employees, customers, partners, and communities who have collectively supported 99 Cents Only Stores for decades," Simoncic added. He will step down while Chief Restructuring Officer Chris Wells handles the company's "wind-down."
Dollar Tree, which acquired Family Dollar in 2014, previously announced it was closing roughly 1,000 stores under its Family Dollar brand earlier this year.
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