11 Family Dollar Stores in Maryland Will Be Sold To Ensure Competition, Protect Consumers

Baltimore, MD - Attorney General Brian E. Frosh today announced a plan to protect Maryland shoppers affected by the pending purchase of deep-discount chain Family Dollar Stores, Inc. by competing retailer Dollar Tree, Inc. Under terms of a settlement agreement filed in federal court on Thursday, 11 Family Dollar stores in Maryland will be sold to a different company to maintain competition and low prices in neighborhoods most impacted by the acquisition.

"So many Marylanders rely on these stores for daily necessities like food and toiletries," Attorney General Frosh said. "This agreement ensures that in places where a Dollar Tree store and a Family Dollar store are close to each other, there will be two different companies operating them, with a built-in incentive to keep prices low."

The 11 stores will be sold to Sycamore Partners, which will be purchasing about 330 similar stores nationwide under the settlement. The stores will then be renamed "Dollar Express." Four of the stores are in the Baltimore City, six are in the DC suburbs, and one is in Salisbury.

The agreement has been approved by Maryland and 16 other states, along with the Federal Trade Commission, all of whom intervened to review the $8.5 billion transaction proposed last year before granting regulatory approval. The FTC also approved the purchase on Thursday, and it can now move forward.

The Office of the Attorney General Antitrust Division, working with the FTC, examined the market of each Dollar Tree and Family Dollar store in Maryland. The Division looked for situations where stores were close to each other, and focused on areas with a larger proportion of lower-income residents, and without nearby competition from other large retail chains.

"We identified stores that, were they to close, the neighborhood would suffer and prices would rise," Frosh said. "This plan boosts the health of these communities."

Under the settlement, Maryland will also receive $20,000 to cover costs associated with reviewing the transaction.

The stores that joined Maryland in the review, and which also approved the settlement today, are Florida, Maine, Missouri, Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Utah, and West Virginia.

The Family Dollar stores that will become Dollar Express stores are located in:

Baltimore City:

• 5900 Reisterstown Road
• 3824 Eastern Ave.
• 4206 Frankford Ave.
• 2429 Frederick Ave.

D.C. region:

• 5110 Indian Head Highway, Oxon Hill
• 3265 Brinley Road, Temple Hills13817 Outlet Drive, Silver Spring
• 9115 Central Ave.a, Capitol Heights
• 2201 Varnum Street, Mount Rainier
• 9347 Annapolis Road, Lanham

Eastern Shore:
234 Tilghman Road, Salisbury