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Many retailers are struggling financially and while some, like Bed, Bath & Beyond, Tuesday Morning, Christmas Tree Shops and The Body Shop, just couldn't make it work and declared bankruptcy, others are using extreme measures to avoid that fate, cutting costs by closing down locations. Sears, Walgreens, CVS, Pizza Hut, Boston Market, TGI Fridays and Popeyes are just a few implementing that strategy and now, a huge national chain is joining them by closing a whopping 1,000 stores.
In an earnings call this week, Family Dollar announced plans to shutter 600 locations in the first half of 2024 and hundreds more in the years following as leases on those stores expire. Dollar Tree, who bought Family Dollar in 2015 for $8.5 billion, will also be shutting down 30 of their stores.
The companies joined forces with the hope that rather than competing with each other, they could together take on competitors like Walmart and Dollar General, but Dollar Tree has struggled with the Family Dollar locations since many were in poor condition at the acquisition, and some still are. On top of that, Family Dollar was given a massive $41.6 million fine for violating product safety standards after it was revealed they were selling merchandise that had been stocked in a warehouse with living, deceased and decaying rodents. According to the Justice Department that levied the punishment, it was "the largest-ever monetary criminal penalty in a food safety case."
No word yet on which of Family Dollar's 8,459 locations will be affected by the closures.