Discount chain Family Dollar to close 370 stores

MATTHEWS, N.C., April 10 (UPI) -- Family Dollar Stores, facing increasing retail competition, have decided to close 370 stores and bring down prices on more than 1000 products.

The steps are aimed at improving financial performance after the company reported a drop in second-quarter earnings and also revised their outlook for the year. The closings will affect 4.6 percent of the company's 8,100 locations in 46 states and will generate as much $45 million in savings, beginning in the third quarter.

"We are not satisfied with our results, and we hold ourselves accountable for improving our performance," said Chief Executive Howard R. Levine.

The discount chain has been facing increasing competition from other discount outlets and big-box retailers such as Target and Walmart. As part of the cost restructuring, the company said it would cut jobs, though it didn't specify the number of positions it intends to eliminate.

Family Dollar will look to reduce corporate overhead and slow the pace of new store openings. The company will open 350 to 400 new stores in fiscal 2015, down from about 525 new stores in fiscal 2014.

There are other stores also announcing closures such as Staples, who said they are closing as many as 225 stores across the U.S. J.C. Penney also reported in January that it would close 33 underperforming locations.

[Wall Street Journal] [Bloomberg Businessweek]