Table of Contents
GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — As Family Dollar Stores Inc. and Dollar General Corp. jostle for price leadership with competing promotional programs, the Federal Trade Commission has made a second request for information related to Dollar General’s offer to acquire its smaller competitor.
As Family Dollar Stores Inc. and Dollar General Corp. jostle for price leadership with competing promotional programs, the Federal Trade Commission has made a second request for information related to Dollar General’s offer to acquire its smaller competitor.
Dollar General, in a statement issued earlier this month, said the FTC’s second request for information was “expected” and it is "a standard part of the regulatory review process" under the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust legislation.
Dollar General in September raised its offer to acquire rival Family Dollar to $9.1 billion after an earlier offer was rejected. However, Family Dollar’s board has unanimously given its support to a competing offer from Dollar Tree Stores Inc. that values Family Dollar at $8.5 billion.
Dollar General, in a statement issued to acknowledge the FTC’s second information request, said that it remains "committed to the proposed acquisition of Family Dollar and will continue to cooperate with the FTC to obtain antitrust regulatory clearance for this transaction."
In the meantime, the chains have moved their battle to pricing and promotions. Family Dollar in late September introduced the "Ad Match Promise," a promotional program that ensures Family Dollar will match competitors’ loyalty card promotions if the prices are printed in the competitors’ ads.
Dollar General countered with its "Fast Way to Save" promotion, which is linked with Coupons.com. The digital coupon offer provides $100 in additional digital coupon dollars to its customers.
Separately, Kantar Retail’s fourth annual opening price point study found that Dollar General continued its ranking as the leader in this category for the third consecutive year. Dollar General widened its price gap with Family Dollar, which ranked third in the survey, and also Walmart Supercenter, which ranked second.
In the Kantar survey, Dollar General’s 21-item shopping basket was the least expensive, with a 2.5% edge over a comparable Walmart Supercenter basket and an 11.4% edge over Family Dollar.
