USA: Dollar Tree announces plans to close nearly 1,000 stores

Dollar Tree, the largest discount retailer in the US, has announced plans to close nearly 1,000 stores, following a “a store portfolio review”.

The retailer said it intended to initially close 600 Family Dollar stores, with a further 370 Family Dollar outlets and 30 Dollar Tree stores also expected to be shuttered over the coming years at the end of their lease term.

“During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, the Company announced that it had initiated a comprehensive store portfolio optimization review which involved identifying stores for closure, relocation, or re-bannering based on an evaluation of current market conditions and individual store performance, among other factors”, Dollar Tree said in a statement announcing its latest financial results. “As a result of this review, we plan on closing approximately 600 Family Dollar stores in the first half of fiscal 2024”.

Despite the impending closures, the company also said it had opened 219 new stores in the fourth quarter, bringing full-year new store openings to 641.

Commenting on the decision, Dollar Tree chief executive Richard Dreiling said: “We took a thoughtful and deliberate approach to address underperforming stores by considering each individual store’s performance, local operating environment, and our broader need for scale and operating efficiencies across the portfolio”.

Source: Dollar Tree / Washington Post