California-based 99 Cents Only Stores is closing down, citing COVID, inflation and product theft
California-based 99 Cents Only Stores says it will close all 371 of its outlets effective Friday
SAN FRANCISCO — California-based 99 Cents Only Stores said Friday it will close all 371 of its outlets, ending the chain's 42-year run of selling an assortment of bargain-basement merchandise.
The company has stores across California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas that will begin will selling off their merchandise, as well as fixtures, furnishings and equipment.
Interim CEO Mike Simoncic said in a statement that the retailer has struggled for years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in consumer demand, inflation and rising levels of product “shrink” — a measure that encompasses losses from employee theft, shoplifting, damage, administrative errors and more.
“This was an extremely difficult decision and is not the outcome we expected or hoped to achieve,” said Simoncic, who will be stepping down. “Unfortunately, the last several years have presented significant and lasting challenges in the retail environment.”
The shuttering of 99 Cents Only Stores comes after fellow discount retailer Dollar Tree last month said it was closing 1,000 stores.
99 Cents Only Stores was founded in 1982 by Dave Gold, who opened its first store in Los Angeles at the age of 50, according to his 2013 obituary in the Los Angeles Times. Gold, who had been working at a liquor store owned by his father, found that marking down surplus items to 99 cents caused them to sell out “in no time,” fueling his desire to launch a new spin on the dollar store.
“I realized it was a magic number," he told the Times. “I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to have a store where everything was good quality and everything was 99 cents?"
Brushing off doubting friends and
Read more on abcnews.go.com
