Family Dollar Stores, Inc. is an American variety store chain. With over 8,000 locations in all states except Alaska and Hawaii, it was the second largest retailer of its type in the United States until it was acquired by Dollar Tree in 2015 and its headquarters operations were moved from Matthews, a suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina, to Chesapeake, Virginia, located in South Hampton Roads.
In June 2014, activist investor and major shareholder Carl Icahn demanded that Family Dollar be immediately put up for sale.
On July 28, 2014, Dollar Tree announced that it would buy Family Dollar for $8.5 billion. The sale delivered a windfall to the company's biggest shareholder, Carl Icahn, who had acquired his 9.4 percent stake in June 2014. On January 22, 2015, Family Dollar shareholders approved the Dollar Tree bid.
History
Family Dollar was founded in 1959 by Leon Levine, a 21-year-old entrepreneur. In November of that year, the company's first store was opened, in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1961, their first store in South Carolina opened, followed by stores in Georgia and Virginia, which were opened in 1962 and 1965, respectively. During the 1960s, the store company was largely a southern United States operation. By 1969, there were fifty stores in Charlotte alone.
The 1970s were growing years for the store chain. In 1970, Family Dollar's stock went public for the first time, at $14.50 per share. In 1971, the chain's 100th store opened, followed by their 200th in 1974 and their 300th in 1978. Also in 1974, a distribution center was opened in Matthews, North Carolina. In 1979, Family Dollar stock began trading at the New York Stock Exchange.
In 1981, the chain's 400th store was opened, followed by a 500th store in 1982 and a 700th in 1983. The 1980s saw expansion at a wider scale for the company, and by 1989, 1,500 stores were operating.
The 1990s saw the pace of expansion slow down compared to the 1980s, with 1,000 stores opened. The company opened distribution centers in West Memphis, Arkansas; Front Royal, Virginia and Duncan, Oklahoma. Since 2000, the pace of growth increased significantly, with the addition of about 3,500 new stores, and new distribution centers opening in Morehead, Kentucky; Maquoketa, Iowa; Odessa, Texas; Marianna, Florida; and Rome, New York.
In 2001, Family Dollar joined the S&P 500 stock market index. In 2002, the company joined the Fortune 500 list of largest publicly held companies.
When Leon Levine retired in 2003, his son Howard R. Levine succeeded him as Chairman and CEO, keeping this multibillion-dollar company in the family.
In March 2005, Family Dollar restated the company's fiscal 2000 to fiscal 2004 earnings per share downward by 2 cents to 3 cents a year, to correct lease-accounting issues.
As of August 2011, there were 7,000 stores in 44 states. According to their website in 2005, Family Dollar opened 500 new stores, 350 more in 2006, and an additional 300 in 2007. According to the Company's 2013 Corporate Profile in 2010, Family Dollar opened 200 new stores, 300 more in 2011, 475 in 2012, and an additional 500 in 2013. On October 3, 2012, Family Dollar said they will open 500 stores in 2013. The next day, Family Dollar partnered with Healthways. Family Dollar operates 11 distribution centers - the latest of which opened in St. George, Utah on October 16, 2013.
Family Dollar created a game show based on the store in late 2016. Hosted by celebrity chef Pat Neely, the show Save to Win aired on The CW between 2016 and 2017.
In May 2020, eight Family Dollar stores were damaged by rioting and looting during the George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, with two locations being destroyed by arson during the widespread civil unrest.
In February 2022 Family Dollar temporarily closed 400 stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee and recalled certain products purchased from Jan. 1, 2021, through the present after the FDA found unsanitary conditions, including a rodent infestation, at the company’s distribution center in West Memphis, Arkansas. On May 18, 2022, the company announced that the West Memphis distribution center would be shut down permanently on or before July 17, 2022 with over 300 employees affected.
Selling pressure
In March 2011, Family Dollar rejected a takeover offer by Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management reportedly between $55 and $60 a share.