### Nearly 200 Closed 99 Cents Only Stores to Reopen as Dollar Tree Locations

 Nearly 200 Shuttered 99 Cents Only Stores to Reopen as Dollar Tree Locations

(AP) - Nearly 200 closed 99 Cents Only stores from Texas to California will be reopened as Dollar Tree locations after their leases were secured through bankruptcy proceedings.

The transfer of designation rights for 170 locations in Texas, Arizona, Nevada, and California, along with some furniture, equipment, and fixtures, was approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Shares of Dollar Tree Inc., based in Chesapeake, Virginia, rose 2% at the opening bell Thursday.

99 Cents Only Stores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month and has been shedding assets, including inventory and store leases. The company announced in April that it would close all 371 of its stores, ending a 42-year run.

99 Cents Only had struggled with shifting consumer demand, inflation, and theft, challenges not unique among bargain store chains.

Dollar Tree posted a surprise loss in its final quarter of 2023 and announced it would close nearly 1,000 stores, most of them Family Dollar locations acquired a decade earlier for over $8 billion after a bidding war with rival Dollar General.

Dollar Tree Chief Operating Officer Michael Creedon stated on Wednesday that the former 99 Cents Only locations are in priority markets with strong growth potential.

“The portfolio complements our existing footprint and will provide us access to high-quality real estate assets in premium retail centers, enabling us to rapidly grow the Dollar Tree brand across the western United States, reaching even more customers and communities,” Creedon said.

Dollar Tree anticipates reopening the stores as early as this fall.

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