Family Dollar store opening set for late August in Fairfield

A new retail store is planned to open in late August in Fairfield, a Family Dollar store.

It will be housed in the former Hy-Vee Drug Store building at Sixth Street and Burlington Avenue.

?We send a store-opening and store development team into a new location and also hire local contractors to ?Family-Dollarize? an existing building,? said Joshua Braverman, communication director at Family Dollar.

Hiring for store staff usually begins two weeks to a month prior to the store launching, he said.

The typical store will hire a full-time manager and assistant manager, and six to eight part-time staff.

?Our stores are a mass merchandise retailer good for fill-in shopping trips,? said Braverman. ?It?s not a stock-up on grocery items store. We don?t have fresh produce or meat, but we have coolers that carry milk and eggs. We have great household products, apparel for men, women and children and paper products, diapers, and care products like shampoo.

?We do a great seasonal business. When Fairfield?s store opens it will be back-to-school time.?

Braverman said Family Dollar is not actually a ?dollar? store.

?Most of our products are priced under $10,? he said. ?We carry a number of brand names, such as Tide laundry detergent and Cheerios. We also have a high quality private label brand that complements the brand names. We are priced lower than average grocery stores.?

According to information on its website, Family Dollar store was founded in 1959 in Charlotte, N. C., by entrepreneur, Leon Levine. It is still headquartered in North Carolina.

Its stated vision: ?To be the best small-format convenience and value retailer serving the needs of families in our neighborhoods.?

It?s core customer: ?Female head of household in her mid 40s making less than $40,000 per year.?

Family Dollar store product mix: ?We offer our customers a mix of quality name brand products they use everyday; from consumable products such as household paper products and expanded food assortment, to treasures for every home and even quality apparel for men, woman and children. We also offer a mix of seasonal products, greeting cards, gift-wrap and more.?

It has 7,200 stores in 45 states and employs 50,000.

?We?re opening about 500 new stores this year,? said Braverman. ?We locate our stores where people can benefit from parking at the store and not fighting crowds or traffic. We connect to neighborhoods.

?We?re excited to open a store in Fairfield and take pride in providing what customers want,? he said.