Dollar Tree
Dollar Tree, Inc. is an American multi-price-point chain of discount variety stores. Headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia, it is a Fortune 500 company and operates 15,115 stores throughout the 48 contiguous U.S. states and Canada.[1] Its stores are supported by a nationwide logistics network of 24 distribution centers. Additionally, the company operates stores under the name of Dollar Bills, as well as a multi-price-point variety chain under the Family Dollar banner.
Dollar Tree
- Only $1.00
- Dollar Tree Stores, Inc.
- Nasdaq: DLTR
- Nasdaq-100 component
- S&P 500 component
- K&K 5&10 (1953–1986)
- Only $1.00 (1986–1993)
1953
April 17, 1986
Sumter, South Carolina, U.S.
15,288 (February 2020) [1]
United States
Canada
Food and snacks, health and beauty care products, housewares, books and toys
193,100 [1]
Dollar Tree competes in the dollar store and low-end retail markets. Each Dollar Tree stocks a variety of products, including national, regional, and private-label brands. Departments found in a Dollar Tree store include health and beauty, food and snacks, party, seasonal décor, housewares, glassware, dinnerware, household cleaning supplies, candy, toys, gifts, gift bags and wrap, stationery, craft supplies, teaching supplies, automotive, electronics, pet supplies, and books. Most Dollar Tree stores also sell frozen foods and dairy items such as milk, eggs, pizza, ice cream, frozen dinners, and pre-made baked goods. In August 2012, the company began accepting manufacturer coupons at all of its store locations.[5]
Most of their stores are located in the South and Northeast, but they can be found scattered across all regions of the United States.
History[edit]
Early years[edit]
In 1953, K. R. Perry[6] opened a Ben Franklin variety store in Norfolk, Virginia, which later became known as K&K 5&10.
In 1970, K. R. Perry, Doug Perry, and Macon Brock started K&K Toys in Norfolk, Virginia. This mall concept grew to over 130 stores on the East Coast.[6]
In 1986, Doug Perry, Macon Brock, and Ray Compton started another chain store called Only $1.00 with five stores, one in Georgia, one in Tennessee, and three in Virginia. The expansion of dollar stores was continued alongside K&K Toys stores, mostly in enclosed malls.[6]
On April 27, 1989, the first “Dollar Tree”-branded store opened at the Jessamine Mall in Sumter, South Carolina.[7] In a May 1989 advertisement in the Sun-News, the fledgling chain, apparently already planning 100 stores for the eastern United States, bills the dollar-pricing model as the “hottest new shopping concept in America”.[8]
1990s[edit]
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.[6]
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.[6]
Brock and the co-founders of Dollar Tree got the idea for the company from another retailer known as Everything's A Dollar, which went bankrupt in the 1990s.[9]
On March 6, 1995, Dollar Tree, Inc. went public on the NASDAQ exchange at $15 a share, with a market cap then calculated at $225 million.
In 1996, Dollar Tree acquired Dollar Bill$, Inc., a Chicago-based chain of 136 stores.
In 1997, the company opened its first distribution center and its new store support center, both located in Chesapeake, Virginia.
In 1998, Dollar Tree acquired 98-Cent Clearance Centers in California.
In 1999, Dollar Tree acquired Only $One stores based in New York.[10] That same year, the company opened its second distribution center in Olive Branch, Mississippi.
Formerly
Dollar Giant (2001–2010)
2001, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Joseph Calvano (co-founder)
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
227
Canada
Neil Curran (president)
28,331,700,000 United States dollar (2022) 
2,236,300,000 United States dollar (2022)
1,615,400,000 United States dollar (2022)
Dollar Tree (2010–present)
Recalls[edit]
The Consumer Product Safety Commission lists several recalls for products sold at Dollar Tree stores. The recalled products include salsa jars with broken glass inside them, hot-melt mini glue guns (recalled in January 2008) which could short circuit and cause burns,[46] and candle sets (recalled in February 2004) that could produce excessive flame.[47]