Dollar Tree to close up to nearly 400 stores on top of 120 it closed in 2018

Dollar Tree will close hundreds of its Family Dollar stores as part of a massive restructuring plan announced Wednesday.

The company says it plans to close as many as 390 stores nationwide, which is expected to include Michigan locations, although a spokeswoman for the company told Patch the company isn’t releasing the full list of stores that "will, or may, close."

Family Dollar was bought by Dollar Tree in 2015 for $8.5 billion with the hopes that by "joining forces, it could grow its customer base, reduce costs and fend off bigger retailers like Dollar General and Walmart," according to CNN Newswire. But after Family Dollar posted another quarter of sluggish growth during the holidays, Dollar Tree set forth the aggressive plan to renovate Family Dollar in 2019.

In addition to the store closures, the company plans to renovate its existing stores, which includes offering alcohol at about 1,000 stores and expanding freezers and coolers in roughly 400 stores. About 200 Family Dollar stores will be rebranded as Dollar Tree.

According to the company, the new model has increased business and is doing well at the most slow-paced Family Dollar stores.

Both stores sell bargain goods such as household cleaners, foods, health and beauty products, toys, and clothes. Family Dollar sells items under $10, while Dollar Tree sells products for $1. With many Americans living off weekly and bi-weekly paychecks, dollar stores are expected to expand.

Both Dollar General and Dollar Tree operate around 15,000 stores across the country. A list of metro Detroit's nearly 50 Family Dollar locations is available here.

Ariel Whitely is an editorial intern at Metro Times.

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