Family Dollar

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Family Dollar Stores has named Holly Shaskey-Platek to the position of SVP merchandising. She will lead the home, apparel and seasonal divisions and report to Paul White, EVP, chief merchandising officer.

New York -- The store opening plans of retailers hit a four-year high in July, according to the August edition of the National Retailer Demand Monthly report from RBC Capital Markets and Retail Lease Trac.

Retailers in the RBC database currently plan to open 78,325 stores over the next 24 months, which represents an 11% increase over openings projected at the end of 2011, and a 0.6% increase over June’s level.

No Wonder Walmart’s U.S. sales are on the upswing. Kantar’s Marx media solutions group this week in its mid-year report noted free standing insert pages for Walmart increased nearly 82% to 2.5 billion pages during the first half of the year.

Family Dollar’s third quarter results were not as good as expected, but only marginally so, and the company’s growth strategy and potential to steal traffic from Walmart remain intact.

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Dollar stores continue to thrive in this consumer-conscious economy, and Family Dollar is no exception.

The dollar store chain reported a total sales increase of 9.6% to $2.36 billion for the third quarter, compared with $2.15 billion for the same period last year. Same-store sales rose 5%, helped by increased customer traffic and strong performances in the seasonal, electronics and consumables categories.

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar Stores Inc. reported Thursday that profit for the quarter ended May 26 rose 12.1% to $124.5 million, compared with $111.1 million in the year-ago period.

Sales increased 9.6% to $2.36 billion, just missing Wall Street’s forecasts of $2.37 billion in sales. Same-store sales climbed 5%.
   

Surging profits and a 6.7% first quarter same-store sales increase prompted Dollar General to raise its full year profit forecast by three cents. Family Dollar is scheduled to report comparable results later this month as the small discount store remains on a roll.

MATTHEWS, N.C. — Family Dollar is getting the Redbox treatment.

The discount store chain announced it inked a multiyear deal with the Coinstar subsidiary, through which Redbox kiosks will be installed at Family Dollar locations across the United States. Family Dollar customers will be able to rent new release DVDs at Redbox for $1.20 a night, Blu-ray discs for $2 a night and games for $2 a night.

Matthews, N.C. -- Family Dollar Stores said Tuesday it has entered into a multi-year agreement with Coinstar to provide Redbox kiosks at Family Dollar locations across the United States.

“As Family Dollar continues to broaden its assortment and increase relevancy to our customer, Redbox is a natural addition to our growth initiatives,” said Michael Bloom, president and COO, Family Dollar.
 

Seattle -- Family Dollar Stores has selected AccessVia Web dSignShop software-as-a-service (SaaS) to print shelf-edge signs and labels in their stores. The solution is designed for retailers who want to outsource implementation, maintenance and support activities. Using data from a central source, Web dSignShop SaaS delivers print and digital promotions to stores for immediate availability and high-speed production via the Internet.