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Dollar Tree is reviving an Oklahoma distribution center that was destroyed last April after being hit by a tornado.
The discount retailer is returning to Marietta, Okla. with a new 1-million-square-foot facility intended to replace the older site, which was officially closed in May.
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The new facility is anticipated to be fully operational by spring 2027, and will serve 700 Dollar Tree stores across the west and southwest regions of the U.S. This builds on the reach of the prior building, which supplied products to 600 stores across 12 states.
According to the company, the distribution center will be temperature-controlled with a “high level of mechanization,” including high speed sortation, designed to improve overall efficiency.
“We are thrilled to announce our return to Marietta,” said Mike Kindy, executive vice president and chief supply chain officer, Dollar Tree, Inc., in a statement. “This region and the Marietta community are critically important in our supply chain network and will be essential to our future growth. We’re proud of the role we’ve played in the greater Marietta community, and we hope to welcome back many associates, bringing the Dollar Tree spirit back to the area.”
More than 450 associates worked at the facility at the time of incident late last April, and was the largest employer in the town of 2,800 people, according to a report from The Oklahoman.
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said the new distribution center would employ 400 workers.
“The reinvestment in the community is a testament to the importance of building strong local relationships and furthers our reputation as a business-friendly state,” Stitt said.
The hole left by the Marietta facility’s absence has been significant, according to the company’s annual report released in March.
Dollar Tree said it recently has experienced capacity pressure in its distribution network and is working to expand distribution center capacity, including to replace some that was lost with the Oklahoma location.
“To the extent that we are unable to, or experience delays in, opening new distribution centers or otherwise expanding our capacity, our product availability, product mix, overall sales and merchandise margins could be impacted, especially at Dollar Tree,” the retailer said.
In the meantime, the dollar store plans to convert the Odessa, Texas, Family Dollar distribution center to a Dollar Tree distribution center in the second quarter of fiscal 2025.