390 Family Dollar stores to close, 200 will convert to Dollar Tree

[LM117]

Closing list hasn't been given yet.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/06/dollar-tree-to-close-up-to-390-family-dollar-stores-this-year.html

[hbelkins]

Family Dollar has not been expanding as aggressively in this area as has Dollar General. Most, if not all, of the Family Dollars in my area underwent renovations in the past year to add "Dollar Tree Dollar Spots" with most $1 items displayed in special racks/shelves/bins. I'm guessing that Dollar General is hurting Family Dollar's sales, so they may be looking to go after a different niche of shoppers by rebranding the stores as Dollar Trees.

[Flint1979]

I noticed the other day that the first Family Dollar in Saginaw, MI was converted to a Dollar General.

[LM117]

Family Dollar has not been expanding as aggressively in this area as has Dollar General. Most, if not all, of the Family Dollars in my area underwent renovations in the past year to add "Dollar Tree Dollar Spots" with most $1 items displayed in special racks/shelves/bins. I'm guessing that Dollar General is hurting Family Dollar's sales, so they may be looking to go after a different niche of shoppers by rebranding the stores as Dollar Trees.

None here have the "Dollar Tree Dollar Spots" . Family Dollar went downhill once Dollar Tree took over, IMO. The FD close to me had a previous manager that was complaining about the additional workload and micromanaging after Dollar Tree took over. She eventually quit. Her successor, who had been working at that store for about a year, had been clamoring to become manager. Now that she is, she's finding herself feeling the same way. I don't expect her to last there much longer. I've also noticed that a lot of FD's grocery products lately tend to be months past their expiration dates.

I agree that Dollar General is putting a hurting on FD. I remember when FD built a brand new store in Pikeville, NC on US-117 in 2006, trying to compete with the DG there, which had been in town since 2001. FD closed in 2012. DG is still in town and has since relocated to the former Walmart Express building, and is also selling gas. AutoZone moved into the FD building in 2016.

[Brandon]

Bye, Family Dollar!  Those twits tried to refuse a manufacturers coupon I was using on a sale item.  Only place I've ever been that tried that stunt.

[texaskdog]

The only true Dollar store wins out

[KEVIN_224]

The Webster Square plaza in Berlin, CT has a Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, but at opposite ends of the building. The Dollar Tree opened less than 2 years ago. The closest Dollar General to them is at 700 Arch Street in bordering New Britain.

[Flint1979]

The Webster Square plaza in Berlin, CT has a Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, but at opposite ends of the building. The Dollar Tree opened less than 2 years ago. The closest Dollar General to them is at 700 Arch Street in bordering New Britain.

In my town there's a Family Dollar and Dollar Tree right next to each other. Family Dollar opened first, then Dollar Tree opened about a year or two later. Both are in an old Kroger store.

Here's a GSV of it. What's inside the glass in between the stores isn't anything, it's just the old entrance to Kroger when it was open. Kroger relocated in 2008.

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.436678,-83.9889251,3a,23.1y,350.27h,88.93t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s8UJVDt7W1iuDL1RHpAiC7Q!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D8UJVDt7W1iuDL1RHpAiC7Q%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D194.05917%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Here's an older GSV when it was just Family Dollar there

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.4366693,-83.9888682,3a,62.3y,349.88h,89.54t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1spr0d3WWCTg_OrGn17pMRQA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[US71]

We have 3 Family here and 3 Tree. I don't like Family Dollar at all. Crowded aisles, boxes everywhere, filthy shelves...just like Dollar General.

[Roadgeekteen]

But money doesn't grow on trees. Then again, it doesn't make up families either.

[davewiecking]

In my town there's a Family Dollar and Dollar Tree right next to each other. Family Dollar opened first, then Dollar Tree opened about a year or two later. Both are in an old Kroger store.

Here's a GSV of it. What's inside the glass in between the stores isn't anything, it's just the old entrance to Kroger when it was open. Kroger relocated in 2008.

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.436678,-83.9889251,3a,23.1y,350.27h,88.93t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s8UJVDt7W1iuDL1RHpAiC7Q!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D8UJVDt7W1iuDL1RHpAiC7Q%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D194.05917%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

What's the shirtless dude next to the maroon Blazer (Tahoe?) in the parking lot up to?

[txstateends]

In my town there's a Family Dollar and Dollar Tree right next to each other. Family Dollar opened first, then Dollar Tree opened about a year or two later. Both are in an old Kroger store.

Here's a GSV of it. What's inside the glass in between the stores isn't anything, it's just the old entrance to Kroger when it was open. Kroger relocated in 2008.

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.436678,-83.9889251,3a,23.1y,350.27h,88.93t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s8UJVDt7W1iuDL1RHpAiC7Q!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D8UJVDt7W1iuDL1RHpAiC7Q%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D194.05917%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

What's the shirtless dude next to the maroon Blazer (Tahoe?) in the parking lot up to?

Funny that DT and FD are the only 2 standout tenants (short of calling either one of them "anchors") in that center.  I wonder if either one of them will survive the announced closings.

As for Mr. Shirtless, the SUV's door is open and no one is in the driver's seat, so I would have to guess he's the driver.  Up to?  Getting a shopping list?  Finding a shirt to put on before going in the store?
No telling.  So weird to see anyone in a GSV pic because the Google car usually is so intent on not catching anyone in an act to the point of blurring them.

There was an 'activist investor' wanting Family Dollar and Dollar General to merge a while back.  Family Dollar didn't want to hear his grief anymore, I guess, and that's when the FD-Dollar Tree deal was announced.... pissing the 'investor' off to no end, I'm sure.

[jp the roadgeek]

The Webster Square plaza in Berlin, CT has a Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, but at opposite ends of the building. The Dollar Tree opened less than 2 years ago. The closest Dollar General to them is at 700 Arch Street in bordering New Britain.

There were also Family Dollar locations in Plainville and Southington. The Plainville one has since become an Advance Auto Parts, while the Southington one became a second Dollar Tree location (both on CT 10.  The other one on Queen St has been there for 20+ years).  Plainville now has a Dollar General location a little over a mile north of the Queen St Dollar Tree, while Southington now has 2 Dollar Generals (there were none a little over a year ago); one on CT 322, and another on CT 229 just south of ESPN headquarters.

[Flint1979]

In my town there's a Family Dollar and Dollar Tree right next to each other. Family Dollar opened first, then Dollar Tree opened about a year or two later. Both are in an old Kroger store.

Here's a GSV of it. What's inside the glass in between the stores isn't anything, it's just the old entrance to Kroger when it was open. Kroger relocated in 2008.

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.436678,-83.9889251,3a,23.1y,350.27h,88.93t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s8UJVDt7W1iuDL1RHpAiC7Q!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D8UJVDt7W1iuDL1RHpAiC7Q%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D194.05917%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

What's the shirtless dude next to the maroon Blazer (Tahoe?) in the parking lot up to?

Not sure lol. Knowing this town it could be anything. Possibly a drug deal that stuff goes on around here. I'm not totally sure what he's up to though.

[LM117]

We have 3 Family here and 3 Tree. I don't like Family Dollar at all. Crowded aisles, boxes everywhere, filthy shelves...just like Dollar General.

Yeah, but at least FD is willing to open more than one register. The DG's in my area absolutely refuse to open more than one at a time when the line backs up halfway down the store. This even happens when more than one employee is behind the counter.

FD is quicker to get in and out of.

[LM117]

There was an 'activist investor' wanting Family Dollar and Dollar General to merge a while back.  Family Dollar didn't want to hear his grief anymore, I guess, and that's when the FD-Dollar Tree deal was announced.... pissing the 'investor' off to no end, I'm sure.

That same investor is now wanting Dollar Tree to kill FD altogether. Talk about holding a grudge...

[hotdogPi]

Dollar Tree is not comparable to the other two, as only Dollar Tree is actually a dollar store.

[SP Cook]

Yeah, Dollar Tree is, well, a junk store.  Everything is one price (one dollar, which means that inflation means the merchandise gets lower in quality every year).  It is just junk.  Leftovers, arts and crafts crap, coloring books, whatever.

Family Dollar and Dollar General are poor people's stores.  Selling basic items like staple foods, housewares, cleaning supplies, and basic clothes for low prices.  In the country, this can help people make ends meet, and they really have an impact on poor neighborhoods where many people have limited transportation.  In the city I work in I have seen these stores make a difference in poor neighborhoods. 

[hotdogPi]

Yeah, Dollar Tree is, well, a junk store.  Everything is one price (one dollar, which means that inflation means the merchandise gets lower in quality every year).  It is just junk.  Leftovers, arts and crafts crap, coloring books, whatever.

There's a place around here (with fewer locations) called "Five Below", where everything is $5 or less, which makes more sense as inflation continues. What do think about that store, if there are any in your area?

EDIT: The store locator says there's one in Vienna WV.

[hbelkins]

There was an 'activist investor' wanting Family Dollar and Dollar General to merge a while back.  Family Dollar didn't want to hear his grief anymore, I guess, and that's when the FD-Dollar Tree deal was announced.... pissing the 'investor' off to no end, I'm sure.

That same investor is now wanting Dollar Tree to kill FD altogether. Talk about holding a grudge...

I had a former Dollar General manager tell me that despite them being competitors, DG and FD use the same distributors.

DG got its start in Scottsville, Ky., which is why they were the first dollar store chain to expand in this area. The HQ moved from Scottsville to Nashville a few years ago, probably due to Tennessee's more-business-friendly tax structure.

[SP Cook]

There's a place around here (with fewer locations) called "Five Below", where everything is $5 or less, which makes more sense as inflation continues. What do think about that store, if there are any in your area?

Never been to a Five Below.  Around here we have plenty of Dollar Generals and Family Dollars, and a number of Dollar Trees.  There is nothing at Dollar Tree I need, but there is a Dollar General that is in a strip mall I go to anyway, and their prices on lots of things are really good.  Soap is soap. 

Beyond that we have Big Lots, which is more of a seconds and rejects store, good for cheap furniture but there is not much to be saved past that; Ollie's, which is a true over-runs store with plenty of truly off brand stuff, over printed books, odd flavor expansions of name products that did not take, scratch and dent stuff, you never know what they have; and Gabriel Brothers, AKA Gabe's, which is a seconds and over-runs store, mostly clothes, sells lots of athletic wear that is mis-printed. 

[PHLBOS]

In my town there's a Family Dollar and Dollar Tree right next to each other. Family Dollar opened first, then Dollar Tree opened about a year or two later. Both are in an old Kroger store.

Here's a GSV of it. What's inside the glass in between the stores isn't anything, it's just the old entrance to Kroger when it was open. Kroger relocated in 2008.

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.436678,-83.9889251,3a,23.1y,350.27h,88.93t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s8UJVDt7W1iuDL1RHpAiC7Q!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D8UJVDt7W1iuDL1RHpAiC7Q%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D194.05917%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

What's the shirtless dude next to the maroon Blazer (Tahoe?) in the parking lot up to?

Funny that DT and FD are the only 2 standout tenants (short of calling either one of them "anchors") in that center.  I wonder if either one of them will survive the announced closings.

As for Mr. Shirtless, the SUV's door is open and no one is in the driver's seat, so I would have to guess he's the driver.  Up to?  Getting a shopping list?  Finding a shirt to put on before going in the store?  No telling.  So weird to see anyone in a GSV pic because the Google car usually is so intent on not catching anyone in an act to the point of blurring them.

I believe GSV only blurs people's faces.  Since the guy isn't facing the GSV camera, no blurring was done/needed.  Other GSVs I've viewed have shown people, but not their faces, as well.  The maroon SUV looks to be a 2000-2006 era Tahoe.

What's the shirtless dude next to the maroon Blazer (Tahoe?) in the parking lot up to?

Not sure lol. Knowing this town it could be anything. Possibly a drug deal that stuff goes on around here. I'm not totally sure what he's up to though.

Getting ready for his appearance on Cops by any chance? 

[jeffandnicole]

Yeah, Dollar Tree is, well, a junk store.  Everything is one price (one dollar, which means that inflation means the merchandise gets lower in quality every year).  It is just junk.  Leftovers, arts and crafts crap, coloring books, whatever.

There's a place around here (with fewer locations) called "Five Below", where everything is $5 or less, which makes more sense as inflation continues. What do think about that store, if there are any in your area?

EDIT: The store locator says there's one in Vienna WV.

Five Below has quite a number of stores - approximately 700 or so.  Great store for kids and teens (and adults) and offers decent quality merchandise.  Most things are priced on the even dollar point ($1, $2, $3, $4 & $5), although there's a few things that you may find priced off that. 

[hbelkins]

I've never been in a Five Below and couldn't tell you where the nearest location is.

Big Lots has been in this area forever, and has some decent prices on some things, but it's often a crapshoot as to what you'll find.

Ollie's is expanding into this area, but their stores are hit-and-miss. I really like the one in Mt. Sterling. I've also been in locations in Richmond, Nicholasville, and Paintsville, and they weren't as nice.

If you can combine Dollar General's sales with digital coupons, you can get some really good prices on necessities like detergent, trash bags, etc.

[LM117]

Ollie's is expanding into this area, but their stores are hit-and-miss. I really like the one in Mt. Sterling. I've also been in locations in Richmond, Nicholasville, and Paintsville, and they weren't as nice.

I've noticed that, too. The Ollie's here is a crowded dump, while the one in Goldsboro, NC is more organized and has more walking space. The building that one is in used to be a Food Lion until it closed in 2006 when they built a new store on Ash Street and relocated there. Ollie's moved in there in 2008.

Fun fact: You can still see the old Food Lion sign: https://goo.gl/maps/BRKf7HWAjft