Increased traffic drives up Dollar Tree's Q3 results

Increased customer traffic helped drive Dollar Tree’s third-quarter results. The retailer cited growth in consumer basics, as well as seasonal and variety merchandise, and said its higher-margin variety categories are growing at a faster pace.



The company reported consolidated net sales for the quarter of $1.9 billion, a 9.5% increase from $1.72 billion for the year-ago quarter. Comparable store sales increased 3.1%.



“I am pleased with our performance in the third quarter,” said CEO Bob Sasser. “Our comparable-store sales increase was driven principally by increased customer traffic, as new customers are finding Dollar Tree to be part of their solution to balance their household budgets. Our stores executed a quick transition from Halloween and are set with fresh, high-value merchandise for Thanksgiving and the Holiday season.”



During the third quarter, Dollar Tree opened 117 stores, expanded or relocated 19 stores and closed 6 stores. The company operates 4,953 stores in 48 states and 5 Canadian Provinces as of Nov. 2.



Estimated sales for the fourth quarter are anticipated to be in the range of $2.25 billion to $2.31 billion, based on a range of low-single digit positive comparable store sales.