US discount retailer Dollar Tree will acquire nearly half of the shuttered 99 Cents Only stores in the country after the latter declared bankruptcy last month.

The retail giant, which also owns the Family Dollar brand, announced that it had taken over the leases for 170 99 Cents Only locations across Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas.

This move comes amidst turbulent times in the discount retail industry, as slowing inflation in the US has stalled a period of rapid growth in recent years.

In March, Dollar Tree announced it would close 600 of its Family Dollar store locations this year and a further 370 over the next several years as leases expire. An additional 30 Dollar Tree locations will also shut down, the company said. 99 Cents Only subsequently filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its 370 stores in April.

Dollar Tree stated on Wednesday that it had acquired the intellectual property of 99 Cents Only but will operate the acquired stores under its own brand.

The rapid expansion of pound shops across the US in recent years has been a retail phenomenon, particularly since the 2008 recession with sparked their exponential growth as families sought ways to reduce household budgets.

Despite their names, the stores have long abandoned selling items for a dollar – and there are subtle differences between the brands. Family Dollar tends to focus on high-poverty neighbourhoods, for example, while Dollar General and Dollar Tree aim for lower middle-class and middle-class areas.

Dollar Tree, a Fortune 200 Company, operates more than 16,000 stores in the US and Canada.

The purchase will allow Dollar Tree to rebuild after the closures announced earlier this year, the company said, with Michael Creedon, Jr., Dollar Tree's chief operating officer adding that the purchase of the 99 Cent Only stores "complements our existing footprint and will provide us access to high quality real estate assets in premium retail centres, enabling us to rapidly grow the Dollar Tree brand across the western United States, reaching even more customers and communities."

"Dollar Tree looks forward to welcoming customers from 99 Cents Only Stores as early as autumn 2024," he said.

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