99 Cents Only Stores
Updated logo
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| Private | |
| Industry | Discount, variety store |
| Founded | February 28, 1969 Commerce, California |
| Founder | Dave Gold |
| Headquarters | Commerce, California, United States |
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Number of locations
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394 |
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Key people
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Geoff Covert CEO, |
| Revenue |
 $1.30 billion (2009) |
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$12.91 million (2009) |
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$8.48 million (2009) |
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| Total assets |
$662.87 million (2009) |
| Total equity |  $523.85 million (2009) |
| Owner |
Ares Management CPP Investment Board |
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Number of employees
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11,500 (2009) |
| Website | 99only.com |
99 Cents Only Stores is an American price-point retailer chain based in Commerce, California. Previously, the store offered all products at 99¢ or less. Most products are now priced at "99.99¢ or less, but certain products are sold at higher price points". Founded by David Gold on February 28, 1969, most of the stores are located in Southern California, with others in Nevada, Texas and Arizona. The company also operates Bargain Wholesale, which sells wholesale to retailers across the United States and exports to more than 15 countries from showrooms in Los Angeles. It also exhibits at trade shows in Las Vegas and Chicago.
Gold first came up with the idea as a means to liquidate slow selling wines at his liquor store. "Whenever I'd put wine or cheese on sale for $1.02 or 98 cents, it never sold out," Gold said in 2001 interview with The Los Angeles Times. "When I put a 99 cent sign on anything, it was gone in no time. I realized it was a magic number."
After prompting from a friend, he then created a full store of these bargains. To get publicity, he sold televisions for only 99 cents on the first day, then had family members calling TV stations to ask about the commotion caused by the lines. The practice continues today as a brand new 99 Cents Only Store will sell a high priced item for 99 cents to the first nine customers in line on opening day, and other limited prices for the next 90 new opening day customers. Despite its image, the company operates a basic information technology operation with a computer system ordering stockers in the distribution center and point of sale registers tracking purchases at every store. The Texas distribution center is a former Albertsons facility bought when that company exited the Houston market.
In November 2003, a more flexible pricing structure was implemented where items are sold for prices lower than 99 cents (for example, 69 or 49 cents). The management believes that this will permit better management of commodity price increases.
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Wikipedia