Family Dollar

[buzz86us]

wow why is Family Dollar so consistently horrible no matter where you go? I needed change for the bus, and I was going to buy something anyways.. I had to leave my backpack at the counter.. as if there is really anything worth stealing there. Plus the people who ran the register were slower than the DMV. I was hoping when Dollar Tree bought it it'd be slightly less crap but no.

[TheFugitive]

Family Dollar has some stores in tough neighborhoods.

I mean, some really, really tough neighborhoods.  I can think of several in this area
which are in locations where frankly I won't go at night.   I suspect that the amount of
shoplifting that goes on in those places is HUGE.  If you have ever worked in retail you
would have learned that there is almost nothing that people WON"T steal.  I am sure
that the "leave all bags at the front desk" policy is a reaction to where these stores are
located and some bitter experience. 

Also it's really tough to hire help in such locations.  Finding people who don't have a criminal
record and who can pass a drug test really narrows down the candidate pool.  And people
from better areas are afraid to work there.

I know a bit about this as I managed in a "combat store" for Hills.
The flipside is that Family Dollar is helping some of these places by at least
providing some place for residents of these areas to shop.

[buzz86us]

Dollar Tree should have just let Family Dollar die..

[deerwrecker2017]

Dollar Tree should have just let Family Dollar die..

I am sure that if Dollar Tree had never bought Family Dollar someone else would have likely bought the chain out eventually since there is always someone out there willing to take a chance.

[TheFugitive]

If anything Dollar Tree is likely to eventually migrate all stores to the Family Dollar
format because with inflation the ability to stick to a one dollar price point will eventually
go away.

[BillyGr]

If anything Dollar Tree is likely to eventually migrate all stores to the Family Dollar
format because with inflation the ability to stick to a one dollar price point will eventually
go away.

Which they are (sort of) trying by adding some sections of more than $1 items to some Dollar Tree stores, and adding Dollar Tree sections to some Family Dollar stores.

Maybe they can just combine both into one store fully, and rename them Family Dollar Tree? ;)

[AmesNewington]

I went to the closing Family Dollar in Berlin on Sunday. They are in their last week. The store was cleared of 90% of merchandise. I'm sure they shipped a lot of the good stuff to other stores that are remaining open. What was left was 50% off with 75% off starting Monday. The cashier said Saturday was the last day unless the remaining stock clears out before then. The Webster Square Plaza is supposed to be getting the new FunHub Entertainment Center, so there won't be too much vacancies when that comes in. When Dollar Tree came in during 2017, Family Dollar became out of place. It was convenient for residents because the town really doesn't have much as far as shopping.

I do feel both chains can continue to exist. Dollar Tree, even with the addition of higher price points will still work. I feel DT serves as an "anything" cheap store that best serves more established/suburban communities, while FD is good for urban cities where a grocery store does not fit with more national brands and expensive items. New Britain is getting another new Family Dollar built from the ground up on Farmington Ave in front of where Walmart used to be.

[Retail_247]

If dollar tree didn't buy family dollar dollar general would have and dollar general would turn all family dollar stores into dollar general stores

[Retail Regents]

Didn't Dollar General get over 300 stores a couple years back? Mine was converted from Family Dollar to Dollar General.

[TheFugitive]

If anything Dollar General might be getting to the point where they are a bit overstored.
I am actually shocked at how many I pass on a relatively short drive in almost any area
of the country.

[deerwrecker2017]

If dollar tree didn't buy family dollar dollar general would have and dollar general would turn all family dollar stores into dollar general stores

If Dollar General had managed to successfully buy Family Dollar a unknown number of both Family Dollar and Dollar General stores (Likely where there would be a possible overlap) would have been shuttered with a additional number of both likely needing to being sold off as well.

The rest of the Family Dollar locations would get converted into Dollar General stores.

[TheFugitive]

A Family Dollar in Pittsburgh where the shoplifting is so out-of-control it may
force the store to close.

https://www.wpxi.com/news/top-stories/theft-problem-could-force-pittsburgh-family-dollar-go-out-business-store-says/BNXKFQ25EFHQVODRD3I54XSTDI/

[AmesNewington]

I went up to the Meriden Mall (Meriden, CT), and traveled down the Chamberlain Highway in Berlin, CT to get there. I passed the old Ferndale Marketfresh (IGA before that), and after being vacant for five years, they are now putting a Family Dollar/Dollar Tree combo store in a portion (or all) of the former grocery store space. This is not the first of this concept in Connecticut (there is one in Stratford that I know of), but none around here. We either have standalone Family Dollars or in a shopping plaza, or Dollar Trees in a shopping plaza. Berlin, CT had a Family Dollar for nearly two decades in the now Ocean State Plaza which closed in 2019 after Dollar Tree opened in 2017. Now, Family Dollar will return to town, but on the opposite end, and Dollar Tree will have a presence in two locations in town. There is also a Dollar Tree farther down the road on the Chamberlain Highway in Meriden in front of the mall property. Not sure if they will remain open after this store opens. I must say that if they had a difficult time getting another grocery store to come in, this is a decent compromise and a neat idea. There is the convenience of having the cheap $1.25 items of DT with the higher (but still reasonable) priced household essential items of FD. FD stores around me, especially in New Britain are not where I would go as they are not in decent areas, but this one I might try out. I'm sure they will sell more food items than other stores here.