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Dollar Tree history
Dollar Tree company history timeline
The company was founded by J. Douglas Perry and Macon F. Brock, Jr. in 1986 and is headquartered in Chesapeake, VA.“
In 1991, the corporation made a decision to focus exclusively on the expansion of dollar stores after selling K&K stores to KB Toys, owned by Melville Corporation.
A New Name and Continued Growth: 1993-95
During 1993, Macon Brock, Jr., was named CEO, the company changed its name to Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., and Dollar Tree continued its expansion, gaining a net 72 new stores, all of which were located in strip shopping centers.
By the end of 1993, the chain had 328 locations, sales of $167.8 million, and net income of $9.5 million.
In 1993, the name Only $1.00 was changed to Dollar Tree Stores to address what could be a multi-price-point strategy in the future, and part equity interest was sold to SKM partners, a private equity firm.
The company continued its successful formula in 1994, expanding to 409 stores, with sales topping the $200 million mark for the first time to reach $231.6 million.
On March 6, 1995, Dollar Tree, Inc. went public on the NASDAQ exchange at $15 a share, with a market cap then calculated at $225 million.
The company began the year 1995 with the creation of two subsidiaries, Dollar Tree Management, Inc. and Dollar Tree Distribution, Inc.
Several, including Jamesway Corporation, Ben Franklin Retail Stores, 50-Off Stores, and Solo Serve Corporation were no longer publicly traded by the end of 1996.
Net earnings increased from $33.8 million in 1996 to $48.6 million.
In 1996, Dollar Tree acquired Dollar Bill$, Inc., a Chicago-based chain of 136 stores.
In January 1997, Dollar Tree began construction, at an estimated cost of $34 million, of its Store Support Center in Chesapeake, Virginia, ten miles from its Norfolk location.
1997 – Dollar Tree broke ground on its first Distribution Center and its new Store Support Center, both located in Chesapeake, Virginia.
In 1997, the company opened its first distribution center and its new store support center, both located in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Staff moved into the new corporate headquarters at the Store Support Center before the year ended, and the new, automated distribution center began operating in January 1998.
In 1998, the company purchased 98 Cents Clearance Centers, a California-based chain owned by Step Ahead Investments Inc.
In 1998, Dollar Tree acquired 98-Cent Clearance Centers in California.
The Olive Branch center, some 425,000 square feet in size, began operation in early 1999--the same year the company surpassed $1 billion in sales.
1999 – A second distribution center was opened in Olive Branch, Mississippi.
In 1999, Dollar Tree acquired Only $One stores based in New York state.
2000: Expansion continues with the purchase of Dollar Express Inc.
In 2000, Dollar Tree acquired Dollar Express, a Philadelphia-based company, and also built a new distribution center in Stockton, California.
In 2001, Dollar Tree began implementing a point-of-sale (POS) scanning system in its stores, which allowed for better inventory control.
2001 – Bob Sasser was promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer.
In 2001, the company opened two additional distribution centers, in Savannah, Georgia, and Briar Creek, Pennsylvania.
Dollar Tree broke the $2 billion mark in 2002 as sales and net income continued their upward trend.
In 2003, Dollar Tree acquired Salt Lake City, Utah-based Greenbacks, Inc., and opened a new distribution center in Marietta, Oklahoma.
2004 – Bob Sasser was promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer.
In 2004, Dollar Tree opened its first store in North Dakota which marked its operation of stores in all 48 contiguous states.
2006 – Dollar Tree celebrated its 20th year of retailing at a $1.00 price point and opened its 3,000th store.
In 2007, Dollar Tree expanded its Briar Creek Distribution Center and crossed the $4 billion sales threshold.
2008 was another milestone year for Dollar Tree as the Company earned a place in the Fortune 500, the only company to do that “A Dollar at a Time.” The Company also had the number-one performing stock in the entire Fortune 500 for that year.
By the close of the 2009 fiscal year, Dollar Tree had moved up more than 100 spots on the Fortune 500 list.
By the close of 2009, the company opened a store in Washington, D.C., and purchased a new distribution center in San Bernardino, California.
In 2009, Dollar Tree redesigned its website with a new e-commerce platform.
In 2010, the corporation opened its 4,000th chain store and acquired 86 Canadian Dollar Giant stores which are based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
In 2011, Dollar Tree achieved total sales of $6.63 billion, opened 278 new stores, and completed a 400,000 square-foot expansion of its distribution center in Savannah, Georgia.
In 2012, Dollar Tree opened another 345 new stores and exceeded $7 billion in sales, with an end-of-the-year market cap at $9.13 billion.
On August 18, 2014, Dollar General lodged a competing bid of $9.7 billion for Family Dollar.
In January 2015, Dollar Tree announced plans to divest 300 stores in order to appease US regulators scrutinizing its proposed takeover of Family Dollar stores.
In June 2015, the firm agreed to sell 330 stores to private equity company Sycamore Partners as part of the approval process for its $8.5 billion takeover of Family Dollar.
The company was ranked 134 on the 2018 Fortune 500 list of the United States corporations by revenue.
In March 2019, as part of its reposition plan, Dollar Tree announced that it will close up to 390 Family Dollar stores along with renovating 1,000 other locations.
Dollar Tree has opened and operated nearly 50 locations by the end of 2020, primarily in small towns with populations of just a few thousand people.
On March 3, 2021, it was announced that Dollar Tree had quietly introduced a combination Family Dollar/Dollar Tree store concept with the first one opening in early 2021.
On September 28, 2021, CEO Michael Wytinski, citing increased shipping and labor costs squeezing profit margins, announced that some prices will be rising above $1, possibly to as much as $1.50.
On November 23, 2021, it was announced that Dollar Tree plans to raise its prices from a dollar for typical items to $1.25 in response to inflation and pressure from investors to raise prices.
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Dollar Tree competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dollar General | 1939 | $40.6B | 143,000 | 19,386 |
| Target | 1902 | $106.6B | 409,000 | 11,530 |
| Big Lots | 1967 | $4.7B | 22,900 | - |
| Toys"R"Us | 1948 | $11.5B | 64,000 | - |
| Party City | 1986 | $2.2B | 10,000 | - |
| Michaels Stores | 1973 | $5.3B | 45,000 | 2,103 |
| Burlington | 1972 | $10.6B | 40,000 | 4,460 |
| Rite Aid | 1962 | $24.1B | 50,000 | 9 |
| Walmart | 1962 | $681.0B | 2,300,000 | 46,093 |
| Kroger | 1883 | $147.1B | 465,000 | 7,583 |
Dollar Tree history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Dollar Tree, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Dollar Tree. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Dollar Tree. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Dollar Tree. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Dollar Tree and its employees or that of Zippia.
Dollar Tree may also be known as or be related to Dollar Tree, Dollar Tree Inc, Dollar Tree Stores, Dollar Tree, Inc. and Only $1.00 Dollar Tree Stores, Inc.