Dollar Tree is set to shutter 390 Family Dollar stores this year and renovate 1,000 locations, the company announced on Wednesday, during the release of its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings, per CNBC.
“We are confident we are taking the appropriate steps to reposition our Family Dollar brand for increasing profitability as business initiatives gain traction in the back half of fiscal 2019,” CEO Gary Philbin stated.
Remodeled Family Dollar stores will sell alcohol and have a $1 Dollar Tree merchandise aisle. Around 400 stores will also get larger freezer and cooler sections, while around 200 Family Dollar stores will be rebranded and become Dollar Trees. As of Feb. 2, the company had 7,001 Dollar Tree stores and 8,236 Family Dollar locations.
The company’s fourth quarter earnings surpassed Wall Street’s estimates, and on an adjusted basis, “reported a profit of $1.93 per share during the 13 weeks ended Feb. 2 compared with average estimates of $1.92 a share compiled by Refinitiv. Sales at stores open for at least a year rose 2.4 percent versus an estimate of 1.5 percent. It generated $6.21 billion in revenue, better than the $6.19 billion expected by Wall Street but down slightly from $6.36 billion a year earlier,” CNBC writes.
The outlet adds that, “On an unadjusted basis, the company had a loss of $2.31 billion, or a loss of $9.66 a share, compared with a profit of $1.04 billion, or $4.37 a share, during the same quarter last year, which included an extra week.”
During the fourth quarter, Dollar Tree opened 143 stores, shut down 84 Family Dollar stores and 10 Dollar Tree stores, and developed or relocated 14 stores. The company currently runs 15,237 stores in the U.S. and Canada.
