Dollar Store Chain to Buy Competitor

By Robert Gates/Patch

One of the largest dollar store chains in the area is buying out another smaller chain of dollar stores.

Dollar Tree announced Monday it is buying Family Dollar for $8.5 billion.

When the purchase is complete, Dollar Tree will be the country’s largest so-called dollar store with 13,000 locations, passing Dollar General Corp., with 11,300 stores, according to an Associated Press story posted by ABC News.

Dollar Tree has numerous stores in New Hampshire including Amherst, Concord, Derry, Exeter, Hooksett, Manchester, Merrimack, Milford, Nashua, North Hampton, Portsmouth, and Salem.

The AP report said that dollar stores have expanded in recent years “to include more groceries and brand-name products, instead of just the party favors and other knickknacks people often associated with them.”

Both companies will continue to operate under the existing names and pricing structures - where every item in Dollar Tree is $1 where Family Dollar sells items for various prices.

Family Dollar has stores in Concord, Manchester, Milford, and Nashua.