Dollar Tree acquires 170 of bankrupt 99 Cent Only’s stores in California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas – set to reopen under new branding in the fall

Dollar Tree has saved 170 shops that were set to be shuttered by rival 99 Cents Only after it went bankrupt.

It is a boost for budget shoppers in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Texas – who have been mourning the loss of the popular chain.

Dollar Tree announced on Wednesday that it had bought rights to the leases for the stores. 

At the same time, it has paid for the 99 Cents Only’s ‘intellectual property,’ meaning it has the option to keep some stores open under the brand or even open new ones using it.

West Coast-based 99 Cents Only had a cult following in the four states. But high inflaton and rising theft forced it to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announce the shuttering of all 371 of its locations. 

Dollar Tree has bought the leases for 170 of the shuttered shops from bankrupt 99 Cents Only Stores. This is s store in Hudson, New York

Loyal shoppers seen flooding to 99 Cents Only stores in April as the chain preparedvto wind down its operations. Pictured: a store in Torrance at 5130 W 190th Street

Since then it has been clearing stock. Die-hard shoppers of 99 Cents Only have been flocking to stores in and stripping shelves bare to snap up bargain.

‘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 Michael Creedon Jr, Dollar Tree’s chief operating officer.

He said the 99 Cents Only locations allow Dollar Tree to get stores in ‘premium retail centers’ where it currently does not have shops.

‘It enables us to rapidly grow the Dollar Tree brand across the western United States, reaching even more customers and communities,’ he added.

Dollar Tree plans to open at these new locations as early as fall 2024. It has yet to relese the addresses of the 170, but we will update this article when we know.

Meanwhile, fellow discount chain Ollie’s announced earlier this week that it will acquire 11 former 99 Cents Only Stores in Texas for $14.6million in cash. See below for the full addresses of these.

‘We are very excited to be announced as the winning bidder of these store locations,’ Ollie’s CEO John Swygert said in a statement. 

‘These stores are the right size, located in good trade areas, have attractive rents and leasing structures, and have been serving value-oriented customers for many years. 

‘Texas is a great market for us that has tremendous growth potential and continues to benefit from strong population growth.’

Ollie’s, based in Pennsylvania, operates 516 stores in 30 states.

Dollar and budget stores have had a rough year. While all shops are struggling to keep up with hot inflation, it affects value retailers worst due to their already-tight margins. 

Dollar Tree said last month it was raising the maximum price cap on its goods to $7. 

The company also owns Family Dollar, and plans to shutter nearly 1,000 of those – 600 this year and the rest when leases end. 

Ollie’s Bargain Outlets is buying 11 of the closed 99 Cents Only Stores shops

In recent months, there has been a spate of bankruptcies adding to store closures.

National coffee and upmarket grocery chain Foxtrot also said  at the start of April it will shut all its stores with immediate effect – leaving staff and customers stunned.

Foxtrot, which was established in 2014 in Chicago, had 33 locations across the Chicago, Austin, Dallas and Washington DC areas. 

Express – another mall staple – filed for bankruptcy in April and said it would shut 95 Express outlets alongside all of its UpWest stores. 

At the start of May, Rue21 – the teen fashion chain that is a fixture in malls across America –  also said it will shut all  its 543 US stores.