More than 70 shuttered 99 Cents Only stores in Southern California will reopen as Dollar Tree locations as part of a massive takeover by the discount chain.
Dollar Tree announced Wednesday that it has acquired the leasing rights for 170 99 Cents Only Stores in the states of California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas, with plans to reopen these store locations this fall. The company also acquired the North American intellectual property rights for 99 Cents Only Stores, as well as some furniture and equipment in the shuttered retailers.
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The 99 Cents Only chain, based in Commerce, announced last month that it would close all 371 stores in four states.
The Dollar Tree acquisition includes a total of 170 stores that it plans to reopen — nearly half of all closed 99 Cents stores.
The Virginia-based company did not release a list of the specific stores that were purchased. But Bill Read, a commercial real estate expert with the firm Retail Specialists, compiled a list of all the individual locations that Dollar Tree had acquired.
The list includes more than 70 stores in Southern California in cities such as Canoga Park, Glendale, Garden Grove, Downey, Port Hueneme, Ventura, Long Beach, Ontario, San Diego, Riverside, Lancaster, Norwalk, Valencia, Tustin and Simi Valley.
When 99 Cents Only announced mass closures in April, many shoppers were particularly disappointed in Southern California, where the company is headquartered and has operated stores since its founding in 1982. In Santa Ana, some shoppers rushed to the store after hearing about the company. going out of business – making some last minute purchases before closing for good.
“Inflation has been high,” said shopper Julie Ann Mckenzie. “So that’s why I shop here. And it’s close to home.”
Dollar Tree issued a statement Wednesday calling the acquisition “an attractive opportunity” with “strong profitable growth potential” as the company looks to expand in the western region of the US.
“The portfolio complements our existing footprint and will provide us with access to high-quality real estate in premium shopping centers, allowing us to rapidly grow the Dollar Tree brand in the Western United States, serving even more customers and communities achieve,” says Michael Creedon Jr. , Dollar Tree’s chief operating officer said in the company statement.
Last month, 99 Cents Only Stores said liquidation sales would begin immediately, the day after it announced store closures.
“This was an extremely difficult decision and is not the outcome we expected or hoped to achieve,” interim CEO Mike Simoncic said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, recent years have brought significant and lasting challenges to the retail industry, including the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, changing consumer demand, deepening contraction, persistent inflationary pressures and other macroeconomic headwinds, all of which have “greatly hampers the company’s ability to operate,” Simoncic said.
