Family Dollar stores are going through changes nationwide. The chain has been struggling in recent years despite its acquisition by Dollar Tree in 2015. Earlier this year, Dollar Tree announced it would be closing 390 underperforming Family Dollar stores this year, would wholly convert some locations into Dollar Tree stores, and would renovate another 1,000 Family Dollars in an attempt to rebrand and improve sales.
The folks in one of the small towns nearby saw some major changes going on at their Family Dollar store and many feared for the worst. But their store was actually one of the stores slated for renovation and rebranding. We decided to stop by and check it out!
The store has been transformed into a hybrid of Family Dollar and Dollar Tree combined!
Inside this new “Dollar Stop” store, you can now find the same products you’ve always been able to find at Family Dollar interspersed with Dollar Tree merchandise. Every aisle now has a well-defined section of $1 products with green Dollar Tree-style pricing stickers. This store format provides the best of both worlds to the customer - the reliable stock of recognizable brands Family Dollar has always offered, as well as the $1 treasure hunt selection offered by Dollar Tree.
This store and many others have had their freezer and refrigerator sections expanded to contain Family Dollar’s traditional grocery selection plus Dollar Tree’s frozen food offerings like TV dinners and pot pies. The store now has more grocery aisles than before to include some of the foods sold at Dollar Tree stores, including an entire row of $1 candy!
The best part about the Dollar Stop store we visited is that it brings the $1 products we like to find at Dollar Tree to a town that’s 20 miles away from the nearest Dollar Tree. While Dollar Tree stores are mostly found in suburban strip malls and shopping centers, Dollar Stop stores like the one we visited help bring Dollar Tree products to new markets, many of which are in isolated small towns across rural America. Many communities that have never had a dollar store now have access to the joy of the $1 bargains we in more populated areas enjoy at Dollar Trees at their local Family Dollar store. On the other side of the equation, these Family Dollar stores can now reap the benefits of Dollar Tree’s products offerings, like its seasonal party supplies, that have helped Dollar Tree continue to thrive in this changing retail climate.
So if you see “Dollar Stop” banners flying outside one of your nearby Family Dollar stores, be sure to stop in and check it out!
