Dollar Tree to Rebrand 99 Cents Only Stores

Dollar Tree has acquired designation rights for 170 leases of 99 Cents Only Stores across Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas to accelerate its growth strategy. The shuttered 99 Cents locations will reopen under the Dollar Tree brand beginning this fall.

The deal was completed via two transactions in May that were approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Dollar Tree revealed in a May 29 statement. As part of the transactions, Dollar Tree also acquired the North American Intellectual Property of 99 Cents Only Stores and select on-site furniture, fixtures and equipment.

In April, California-based 99 Cents Only Stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, closed all of its 370 locations and subsequently initiated a process to dispose of its assets, including its inventory, owned real estate and store leases. 

"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,” Michael Creedon Jr., Dollar Tree’s chief operating officer, said in the statement. “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 U.S., reaching even more customers and communities.”

As of Feb. 3, Dollar Tree operated 16,774 stores across 48 states and five Canadian provinces under its namesake banner, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Canada. Family Dollar is closing almost 1,000 of its roughly 8,000 stores due to underperformance over the next few years. 

In the meantime, Dollar Tree has been aggressively renovating the remaining Family Dollar stores, with an emphasis on expanding food and beverage options by adding more coolers and freezers and growing its private-label selections. The retailer is also trying to improve store cleanliness, reduce out-of-stocks and generally improve the banner's value proposition. (P2PI members can dive deeper in the discount retailer’s market position via our designated Retailer Profile.)