CARIBOU, Maine — With Dollar General’s Sept. 5 opening, the city of Caribou now has four “dollar” discount stores operating in the city.
Dollar General opened on Sweden Street, in the same location of a Dollar Express that closed earlier this year. However, most in Caribou would likely refer to the old Dollar Express as “Family Dollar,” since the business did not change its signage to reflect an ownership change two years ago.
It gets a bit confusing, but Dollar Tree acquired the Family Dollar company in 2015. Then the Federal Trade Commission forced it to sell 323 of its stores to Dollar Express. according to the Wall Street Journal. Before the Family Dollar in Caribou had time to change its name, however, Dollar General bought out those 323 stores from Dollar Express.
The Sweden Street store, which opened on Sept. 5, already boasts the new Dollar General signs and a grand opening is slated for 8 a.m. on Sept. 16, according to Dollar General Corporate Communications Coordinator Laura Somerville.
“The first 50 adult customers will receive a free $10 gift card and the first 200 customers will receive a Dollar General tote with complimentary product samples,” Somerville wrote in an email.
Somerville said the company is “thrilled” to have the grand opening, as it will be the “first Dollar General store in the area,” adding that Dollar General “looks for places where we can offer customers an easy and convenient shopping choice.”
In addition to analyzing demographic trends, competitive factors, and traffic patterns, Dollar General seeks to “generally serve customers within a three to five mile radius, or 10 minute drive,” according to Somerville.
The Caribou Dollar General employs six to ten people, she said.
Meanwhile, a new Family Dollar opened in Caribou’s Skyway Plaza about two months ago. Family Dollar’s parent company, Dollar Tree, also operates a Dollar Tree store on Bennett Drive, just half a mile away. Additionally, an Expect More Dollar Store sits less than five hundred feet away from the new Dollar General on Sweden Street.
