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Issue link: https://ccr-mag.epubxp.com/i/190248
It's a FamIly aFFaIr In 2012, Family Dollar opened 475 new stores, which average 7,200 square feet of retail space. This year, the chain plans to open between 450 and 500 new stores. In addition, 854 stores were renovated. With more than $9.3 billion in sales in 2012, Leon Levin's legacy lives on. To get an inside look at how Family Dollar construction process works today, we sat down with Brad Rogers – Senior VP of Real Estate, and Brian Connell, Director Renovations and Projects, for Family Dollars Stores. What is the most pressing item on your to-do list? Brad: We are fnalizing the real estate goals for 2014 across all of our groups. We spend a lot of time at eye level trying to fnd out where we are going next year. We have a lot of people doing a lot of hard work to set and hit these goals. Brian: We just fnished the new store and renovation openings for 2013, so we are heavily involved in the planning for next year. As Brad mentioned, we're continuing to set goals and make sure they're realistic and achievable, yet challenging for us to meet. How has business been over the past year overall? Brad: We've had a really good year to date; we're really excited about how things have turned out. From a new store opening perspective, everything went really well, which is always good. We renovated and expanded around 800 stores this year, too, so when you look at that kind of activity in the pipeline, that's a huge number. What we've really been pleased about this year is just how smooth the process has been. Any surprises this year? Brad: We do a lot of fee development, where we pay a developer, and then we accumulate stores. One of the things that we have been real surprised – and excited – about was how low cap rates were this year. What are some of the opportunities you see moving ahead? Brian: Our main focus is to stay relevant with our customers as we continue to move 28 CommerCial ConstruCtion & renovation — September : OctOber 2013