When Family Dollar ceased operations at their Benton Square location on M-139 earlier this summer, all indications were that the deal was over. There would no longer be a store of that type at that location. Well, the shutdown didn’t last all that long in the end run as Dollar General, which had originally purchased that site along with many others across the nation, has now opened up shop with Dollar General brand there.
Dollar General’s newest store at 1606 M 139 in Benton Harbor is now open. In that center, Dollar General will offer area residents the return of a convenient new place to shop for everyday essentials at low prices. It also marks the third new Dollar General in Berrien County this spring and summer. A new Niles entry opened at the first of May, and Dowagiac’s new Dollar General opened just last week.
Dollar General will celebrate the store’s official grand opening this coming Saturday, August 26 at 8am with free prizes and special deals. Additionally, the first 50 adult shoppers at the store will receive a $10 Dollar General gift card and the first 200 shoppers will receive a Dollar General tote bag with complimentary product samples, among other giveaways. Workers were adding the Dollar General signage to the top of the Benton Square Shopping Center pylon sign this afternoon preparatory to the grand opening.
The Benton Square store was originally swept up in the steady drumbeat of retail closures which has continued to assault the buying public. Back in April, that Family Dollar location was one of 20 Family Dollar Stores closing across the state of Michigan.
That store was one of 20 that were owned by a North Carolina firm called Dollar Express, who elected to liquidate and shutter all of their Michigan stores by the end of June. Nearly three dozen people were out of a job as a result of the closures, including the six employees who had been working at the store on M-139 near Sav-A-Lot Foods. Three other Benton Harbor Family Dollar stores were not impacted by the action at that time.
A couple of years ago there was a lot of competition to buy up the various dollar store genres and Sycamore Partners acquired a number of stores with plans to convert them to the Dollar Express brand in the wake of the merger that brought together Dollar Tree and Family Dollar.
Then, Dollar General announced the takeover of 323 Dollar Express properties in three dozen states across the nation from Sycamore Partners and has been converting many of them to the Dollar General brand or closing some down permanently due to in-market conditions.
At any rate, the new Dollar General in Benton Township is now open and Don Nieser, who serves as Dollar General’s Senior VP of Real Estate & Store Development says, “Dollar General is committed to delivering a pleasant shopping experience that includes a convenient location, a wide assortment of merchandise and great prices on quality products.” He adds, “We hope our area customers will enjoy shopping at Dollar General’s new location.”
Dollar General stores typically offer convenience and value to customers by providing a focused selection of national name brands and private brands of food, housewares, seasonal items, cleaning supplies, basic apparel and health/beauty products. The store’s focus on a fresh layout is designed to make shopping simple for customers. Seasonal products are displayed in the center of the store, departments are easily recognizable with visible signage and coolers are conveniently located at the front of the store.
Traditional Dollar General stores employ approximately six to 10 people, depending on the need. Anyone interested in joining the Dollar General team may visit the Career section at www.dollargeneral.com.
Dollar General gives its customers more than everyday low prices on basic merchandise. Dollar General is deeply involved in the communities it serves and is an ardent supporter of literacy and education. At the cash register of every Dollar General store, customers interested in learning how to read, speak English or prepare for their high school equivalency test can pick up a brochure with a postage-paid reply card that can be mailed in for a referral to a local organization that offers free literacy services.
Since its inception in 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $135 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping nearly more than 8 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy or continued education. For more information about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and its grant programs, visit www.dgliteracy.com.
