Thursday, June 4, 2009

50th Anniversary of Family Dollar Stores

I saw in a flyer, that the Family Dollar stores were celebrating their 50th anniversary. Until about eight years ago, I was unfamiliar with them, but now I see then pretty much everywhere. Either them, or that easily confused Dollar General. My nephew worked a short time as an insurance adjuster for one of them. I like the deals they have and some of the items are quite good.

A little Wikipedia look up, and I found that family Dollar is not a real "Dollar" store as many items are more than a buck (unlike Dollar Bill's and It's a Buck).

It was founded in 1959 by 21-year-old entrepreneur Leon Levine in Charlotte, NC. It remained a predominantly southern US store through the 1960s. By 1969, there were 50 stores in the Charlotte area. I guess I would have known about them had I been from there.

In 1981, the 400th store opened and 700th in 1983. Growth slowed in the 1990s, but 3,500 were added since the turn of the century. As of March 1, 2009, there are 6,509 stores in 44 states. With the economic malaise, they should do well.

Give Me Cheap Most of the Time. Cooter

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