It was announced Wednesday, March 6th that Family Dollar will be closing nearly 400 stores throughout this year. Another two hundred stores will be re-branded into Dollar Tree stores. The status of the local Family Dollar stores in Galesburg and Monmouth remains unknown – the discount chain has not released the list of possible store closures. A store manager told WGIL the two stores were to remain open. Dollar Tree Inc., based in Chesapeake, Virginia acquired Family Dollar in 2015 for $9 billion after a bidding war with Dollar General. From October to December 2018, 85 Family Dollar stores closed and 1,000 stores are slated to be renovated this year. The company said Wednesday, March 6th that it’s seeking rent concessions from landlords at the 85 stores closed late last year and if it doesn’t get them, it’ll speed up the pace of store closings to as many as 390 locations. Dollar Tree closes about 75 stores annually. As of February 2, 2019, the Company operated 7,001 Dollar Tree stores and 8,236 Family Dollar stores.
