Seven Family Dollar Stores in the Twin Cities are closing in June with the plan of converting them into Dollar General stores.
Also closing are four Payless ShoeSource stores in Minnesota. The permanent closures are part of the Kansas-based retailer's recent bankruptcy filing. The retailer said this week it will begin closing 400 stores out of the more than 4,000 it operates around the world as it looks to restructure.
The Payless stores in Minnesota on the closings list are in Cottage Grove, Elk River, Moorhead and Medford.
The store closures are part of a major disruption in the retail landscape as more consumers shop online or at different kinds of stores, such as off-price retailers. In the last several months, the Limited, Wet Seal and American Apparel have shut down or are in the process of closing all their stores. Others such as BCBG Max Azria, Gordmans, HHGregg and Gander Mountain have also filed for bankruptcy and are closing some stores.
Meanwhile, some retail heavyweights such as Macy's, Sears and J.C. Penney are shuttering hundreds of locations as they look to retool their businesses for a more digital-focused future.
This week, Dollar Express, a North Carolina-based company, notified the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development that it will close three stores in Minneapolis, three stores in St. Paul and one store in Robbinsdale that have operated under the Family Dollar banner. The stores will be closed by the end of June and 76 workers will lose their jobs.
Those stores were among the 320-plus stores that were unloaded a couple of years ago following the sale of Family Dollar to Dollar Tree to address federal antitrust concerns. Private equity firm Sycamore Partners bought the stores and planned to run them as Dollar Express stores. Dollar Tree still operates thousands of other Family Dollar Stores.
On Monday, Dollar General announced it had bought those 323 stores from Dollar Express. The companies said the stores will be transitioned to the Dollar General banner instead.
Earlier this week, Gordmans also announced that it will be closing five of its six Minnesota department stores after filing for bankruptcy.
Kavita Kumar • 612-673-4113
