Dollar General has purchased 323 Dollar Express stores from private equity firm Sycamore Partners for an undisclosed sum. Family Dollar initially divested the stores to Sycamore Partners in 2015 after its merger with then-rival Dollar Tree. When the acquisition is finalized, the stores will be converted to the Dollar General banner.
The stores currently still operate under the Family Dollar name, although Sycamore had intended to rebrand them under the recently formed Dollar Express moniker on May 1.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) initially determined that these stores would interfere with competition if a Family Dollar-Dollar Tree merger occurred. The stores had an annual sales run rate of approximately $500 million and represented $45.5 million in operating income at the time of the divestiture.
Advertisement
But the acquisition may have serious implications for employees working at Dollar Express. Although Dollar General purchased the 323 stores as part of the agreement, it isn’t clear whether the Dollar Express headquarters or staff are included in the deal, according to Supermarket News. As many as 2,700 part-time and full-time store employees’ jobs are now hanging in the balance.
Numerous Dollar Express employees told The Charlotte Observer that they were informed their last day would be June 2, 2017. The report indicated that the stores are close to starting their liquidation processes.
The acquisition of the former Family Dollar stores falls in line with Dollar General’s goal to open approximately 1,000 new stores by February 2018.
