99 Cents Only Stores

Cereal bowls. Contadina pasta sauce. Legg's socks. Johnson & Johnson cotton swabs. Ghirardelli chocolate. Aspirin. A flashlight with batteries. To the average shopper, these things have little in common. But to entrepreneur David Gold, they are all exactly the same--worth just 99 cents. The son of a Russian peddler, Gold got the idea for his chain of 99 Cents Only Stores in the early 1960s while operating a small liquor stand in downtown Los Angeles' Grand Central Market.

99 Cents Only Stores Inc. said its family management team has left the deep discounter, one year after the family-run business was acquired. Los Angeles private equity firm Ares Management and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought the retailer in a deal that closed in January 2012 and took the firm private. When the chain announced the deal, valued at about $1.6 billion, it said the family management team would remain in place. But the City of Commerce company said this week that Chief Executive Eric Schiffer, Chief Administrative Officer Jeff Gold and Executive Vice President of Special Projects Howard Gold "are no longer employed by the company.

99 Cents Only Stores Inc. said its family management team has left the deep discounter, one year after the family-run business was acquired. Los Angeles private equity firm Ares Management and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought the retailer in a deal that closed in January 2012 and took the firm private. When the chain announced the deal, valued at about $1.6 billion, it said the family management team would remain in place. But the City of Commerce company said this week that Chief Executive Eric Schiffer, Chief Administrative Officer Jeff Gold and Executive Vice President of Special Projects Howard Gold "are no longer employed by the company.

99 Cents Only Stores Inc. has agreed to be sold in a deal valued at about $1.6 billion, the deep-discount retailer said Tuesday, as investors are eyeing dollar stores that have grown in popularity during the economic downturn. The City of Commerce chain will be acquired by Los Angeles private equity firm Ares Management and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for $22 a share in cash, a 7.4% premium over Monday's closing price of $20.49. The chain said the current family management team will remain.

99 Cents Only Stores Inc. has agreed to be sold in a deal valued at about $1.6 billion, the deep-discount retailer said Tuesday, as investors are eyeing dollar stores that have grown in popularity during the economic downturn. The City of Commerce chain will be acquired by Los Angeles private equity firm Ares Management and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for $22 a share in cash, a 7.4% premium over Monday's closing price of $20.49. The chain said the current family management team will remain.

Discount chain 99-Cent Only Stores formed a special committee to evaluate a $1.34 billion takeover proposal by members of its founding family and Los Angeles buyout firm Leonard Green & Partners, as well as other options. The City of Commerce-based company said the panel is made up of independent directors Lawrence Glascott, Marvin Holen and Peter Woo. The three were previously asked to evaluate a $19.09-a-share cash offer March 10 by Leonard Green Partners, the company said in a statement today.

99 Cents Only Stores said it plans to open a 26,000-square-foot store, its largest, in Anaheim on July 25, and an additional four to five stores during the remainder of the year.

Discount retailer 99 Cents Only Stores said fourth-quarter earnings fell 43% because of weak sales in Texas and a $10.1-million payment to its California workers' compensation reserve. Net income in the fiscal fourth quarter fell to $8.7 million, or 12 cents a share, from $15.3 million, or 21 cents, a year earlier. Sales rose 7.5% to $265.9 million.

A fraction of a penny is amounting to one big headache for 99 Cents Only Stores. Two years ago, the City of Commerce retailer — faced with rising inflation and higher costs — raised the top price of its goods to 99.99 cents from 99 cents. Company executives thought it was a clever way to increase sales while staying loyal to the chain's love for the number 99. But the move seems to be riling some customers who say they weren't aware of the nearly one-cent increase and felt duped into believing they were still paying 99 cents "only."

One go-to resource for organic topsoil is Agromin Premium Soil Products, an Oxnard-based green materials recycler that turns much of Southern California's lawn and garden clippings into soil, mulch and compost. But for home delivery, Agromin has a 3-cubic-yard (several hundred pounds) minimum, which is why a dump truck's worth ends up filling many customers' driveways. What if you need smaller quantities? Turns out Agromin packages its organic potting soil in a 4-quart bag for 99 Cents Only Stores in Southern California.

Discount chain 99-Cent Only Stores formed a special committee to evaluate a $1.34 billion takeover proposal by members of its founding family and Los Angeles buyout firm Leonard Green & Partners, as well as other options. The City of Commerce-based company said the panel is made up of independent directors Lawrence Glascott, Marvin Holen and Peter Woo. The three were previously asked to evaluate a $19.09-a-share cash offer March 10 by Leonard Green Partners, the company said in a statement today.

Discount chain 99 Cents Only Stores Inc. has been fined $409,490 by the Environmental Protection Agency for selling illegal unregistered or mislabeled pesticides in three household products, the federal agency said Wednesday. The City of Commerce-based retailer continued to sell the items even after being notified of the violations, the agency said. The fine is the largest contested penalty ever handed down. "What you don't know really can hurt you. You can't take precautions and you can end up using products in very harmful ways," said Jared Blumenfeld, the agency's regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest "The cost of the product doesn't relate to the magnitude of the problem or the dose of the toxicity of the ingredients.

A fraction of a penny is amounting to one big headache for 99 Cents Only Stores. Two years ago, the City of Commerce retailer — faced with rising inflation and higher costs — raised the top price of its goods to 99.99 cents from 99 cents. Company executives thought it was a clever way to increase sales while staying loyal to the chain's love for the number 99. But the move seems to be riling some customers who say they weren't aware of the nearly one-cent increase and felt duped into believing they were still paying 99 cents "only."

One go-to resource for organic topsoil is Agromin Premium Soil Products, an Oxnard-based green materials recycler that turns much of Southern California's lawn and garden clippings into soil, mulch and compost. But for home delivery, Agromin has a 3-cubic-yard (several hundred pounds) minimum, which is why a dump truck's worth ends up filling many customers' driveways. What if you need smaller quantities? Turns out Agromin packages its organic potting soil in a 4-quart bag for 99 Cents Only Stores in Southern California.

99 Cents Only Stores Inc. said Tuesday that it was putting a hold of up to six months on its plan to exit the Texas market after surprisingly strong January sales. But the City of Commerce retailer did announce plans to close some of its Texas stores. The discount chain announced last year that it would pull out of Texas, leaving the company with stores in California, Arizona and Nevada.

Imagine a straight line on a graph. Another line is curving toward it. It gets closer and closer; it will, unto infinity, always get closer, until you can't see the space between them, but it will never touch the straight line. In the world of pre-calculus classes, the straight line is called a linear asymptote. In the world of retail, it's called a dollar, and the curve that draws ever closer is the 99 Cents Only Stores’ new pricing strategy. The chain has become a reliable outlet of unmoving and unvarying prices at a time when the cost of energy has raised the price of just about everything.