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Website: http://www.familydollar.com Family Dollar operates a fast-growing chain of no-frills discount stores. The stores sell household goods, supplies, food and clothing at low prices. The stores do not accept credit cards and only cash, debit cards or checks up to $150. Total sales for fiscal 2007 were $6.83 billion and net income was $242.8 million. The company operated 6,473 stores in 44 states at the beginning of 2008. The company operates 8 distribution centers to supply its stores. History In 1958, Leon Levine was a 21-year-old entrepreneur with an interest in merchandising. He became intrigued with the idea of operating a low-overhead, self-service retail store. Levine believed he could offer his customers a variety of high-quality, good-value merchandise for under $2. Because he had grown up in his family's retail store, he understood value, quality and customer satisfaction. In November 1959, Levine opened the first Family Dollar store in Charlotte, NC. Right from the start, he had a well-developed philosophy of what Family Dollar would be and how it would operate, a philosophy from which he and his management team have never strayed. The concept is a simple one, "The customers are the boss, and you need to keep them happy." He created a general floorplan that he used in each of his stores that allowed customers to easily shop for their favorite products in any Family Dollar store. With the stores uniformly laid out and stocked, store managers were able to focus on providing good customer service. This concept for a self-serve, cash-and-carry neighborhood discount store in low to middle income neighborhoods proved so successful that today Family Dollar is a chain with almost 6,500 stores from Maine to Arizona. Benefits Family Dollar offers benefits to full- and part-time employees. Benefits include medical and dental insurance, life insurance, 401(k) and employee stock purchase plan. Service awards also given to top employees. Paid holiday, sick and vacation days also provided. Updated April 2, 2008 |