Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Family Dollar history
Family Dollar company history timeline
In 1970, Family Dollar's stock went public for the first time, at $14.50 per share.
Also in 1974, a distribution center was opened in Matthews, North Carolina.
Family Dollar’s profits plummeted by fifty percent by 1975.
In 1979, Family Dollar acquired 40 Top Dollar stores from Sav-A-Stop.
In 1980, the size of the distribution center was doubled so that the company could take further advantage of discounts on single, bulk deliveries, as well as open new stores without concern about stock shortages.
In 1982, Family Dollar opened its 500th store.
In September of 1987, just as Family Dollar reported its fourth consecutive quarter of lower earnings, Lewis Levine abruptly resigned, and Howard Levine left as well.
However, with competition from rival Wal-Mart slashing prices, sales dropped ten percent in 1987.
In the summer of 1987, Ralph Dillon became the new CEO and went back to the foundations of the company by slashing prices even further and began supplying more upscale merchandise such as candles and costume jewelry.
In 1987, the company was spending $2 million to renovate its 1,272 stores, to make the most of their compact size.
Formerly the head of Coast American Corporation, Denver's retail franchise, Dillon joined Family Dollar in summer of 1987.
It had been expanding as far north as Michigan, and as far west as Texas, and right into Sam Walton's Wal-Mart territory. Thus, in 1987, Family Dollar instituted a new pricing policy: they would not be undersold.
Importantly, same-store sales were up, overall sales exceeded the $1 billion mark for the first time, and revenues increased 18 percent in 1992 alone.
By 1992, as Wal-Mart captured 26 percent of the discount store market and many smaller discounters were sent into bankruptcy, Family Dollar seemed to have survived by concentrating on its core strengths of convenience, solid stock, and low prices.
In the spring of 1994, Hayes resigned as president and chief operating officer of Family Dollar Stores, taking a position as president of a Florida-based jewelry company.
Family Dollar opened a second distribution center in West Memphis, Arkansas, and by 1996, Family Dollar was operating over 2,500 stores.
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.
Seven years after Family Dollar was added to the S&P 500 index in 2001, company stock finished first among the index.
By 2002, the company made the Fortune 500 list.
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.
Happy Birthday, Family Dollar! In 2009, the company celebrated its 50th anniversary.
In March 2011, Family Dollar rejected a takeover offer by Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management reportedly between $55 and $60 a share.
15 May 2012. http://corporate.familydollar.com/pages/history.asp&xgt; "Family Dollar Stores, Inc. ." fundinguniverse.com.
Family Dollar operates 11 distribution centers - the latest of which opened in St George, Utah on October 16, 2013.
On June 19, 2014, Icahn demanded in an open letter that Family Dollar be put up for sale immediately.
On July 28, 2014, Dollar Tree announced that it would buy Family Dollar for $8.5 billion.
The merger was announced in 2014, and made official the next year.
In 2017, Dollar General acquired Dollar Express and converted the stores.
On March 6, 2019, the retailer announced that it will close up to 400 stores nationwide due to heavy pressure from an activist investor.
Rate how well Family Dollar lives up to its initial vision.
Family Dollar jobs
Do you work at Family Dollar?
Is Family Dollar's vision a big part of strategic planning?
Family Dollar competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dollar Tree | 1986 | $17.6B | 193,100 | 10,121 |
| Dollar General | 1939 | $40.6B | 143,000 | 13,944 |
| Big Lots | 1967 | $4.7B | 22,900 | - |
| Circle K | 1951 | $7.8B | 40,001 | 5,762 |
| Kmart | 1899 | $25.1B | 1,500 | - |
| Claire's | 2007 | $1.4B | 18,100 | 24 |
| Payless ShoeSource | 1956 | $3.0B | 18,000 | - |
| Sam's Club | 1983 | $59.0B | 25 | - |
| Winn-Dixie | 1925 | $5.1B | 41,000 | - |
| Food Lion | 1957 | $20.0B | 88,001 | - |
Family Dollar history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Family Dollar, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Family Dollar. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Family Dollar. 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 Family Dollar. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Family Dollar and its employees or that of Zippia.
Family Dollar may also be known as or be related to Family Dollar, Family Dollar Inc., Family Dollar Stores, Family Dollar Stores Inc and Family Dollar Stores Inc.