Dollar Tree
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. | |
 |
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| Type | Public (NASDAQ: DLTE) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1986 |
| Headquarters |  Chesapeake, Virginia, USA |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | Snacks, Toys, Books, Food, Housewares, Dollar Closeouts |
| Website | http://www.dollartree.com/ |
Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) is an American chain of retail stores headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia. Every item sold in the stores is offered for either $1.00 or less, thus making it a true dollar store. As of July 29, 2006, Dollar Tree operates 3,156 stores in 48 states.
Dollar Tree traces its history back to 1953 when company founder K.R. Perry opened a Ben Franklin store. Along with Doug Perry, Macon Brock and Ray Compton he eventually turned the store into K&K 5&10, a five and dime. A number of additional K&K stores were opened. By the 1970s and 1980s, the chain came to concentrate on toys.
In 1986, the company opened its first Dollar Tree store in Dalton, Georgia. By the early 1990s, the company decided to focus exclusively on the Dollar Tree line. The chain sold the K&K stores to KB Toys. The company came to be known as Dollar Tree Stores, and by 1995 was traded on NASDAQ. Since that time the company has focused on expanding its presence nationwide.
In 1995, Dollar Tree bought the Dollar Bill$ chain, which were predominantly in Illinois and Missouri. These stores retained their original names, but were stocked with Dollar Tree items.
In 2004, Dollar Tree bought Greenbacks All-A-Dollar stores.
In 2006, Dollar Tree bought Deal$ stores (previously owned by Save-A-Lot).
Dollar Tree competes in the dollar store and low-end retail markets with the national chains Family Dollar and Dollar General together with regional chains such as Fred's in the southeast and many independent dollar stores nationwide.
Dollar tree has recently expanded into the grocery business further with the addition of frozen foods and dairy at some stores. Products include milk, punch, pizza, ice cream, frozen dinners and pre-made baked goods.
The store chain's slogan "Everything's $1", standing for everything is a dollar, in fact is a grammatical error, implying that everything has ownership of $1.
