Dollar Tree Acquires Shuttered 99 Cents Only Stores

After more 370 locations of 99 Cents Only Stores closed rather abruptly in April and went up for sale shortly after that, it was an equally quick turnaround for a new operator of those sites. Dollar Tree, Inc. announced this week that it acquired rights to the leases of 170 99 Cents Only Stores in several southwest states.

As 99 Cents Only Stores is going through the bankruptcy process and subsequently offloading assets, Dollar Tree is picking up several of that retailer’s leases in Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas, as well as the Intellectual Property of the stores and some of its onsite furniture, fixtures and equipment. The dollar store chain disclosed that some of the locations will rebrand and reopen as early as this fall.

99 Cents Only Stores averaged 23,000 square feet and had a layout that works with the Dollar Tree format. Dollar Tree has been on its own growth roll, opening 641 during its most recent fiscal year; Dollar Tree will share its first quarter financial results and company news on June 5. 

"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,” said Dollar Tree COO Michael Creedon. “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 United States, reaching even more customers and communities.”

As of Feb. 3, Chesapeake, Va.-based Dollar Tree operates 16,774 Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Canada stores across 48 states and five Canadian provinces. The company is No. 20 on The PG 100, PG’s 2024 list of top food and consumables retailers in North America.