Family Dollar 2012 Annual Report Download - page 14

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At the end of fiscal 2012, the number of stores served by each of our distribution centers was as follows:
Distribution Center
Number of Stores
Served
Matthews, NC ........................................................ 703
West Memphis, AR .................................................... 623
Front Royal, VA ...................................................... 741
Duncan, OK .......................................................... 773
Morehead, KY ........................................................ 834
Maquoketa, IA........................................................ 704
Odessa, TX .......................................................... 759
Marianna, FL ......................................................... 888
Rome, NY ........................................................... 812
Ashley, IN ........................................................... 605
Total ........................................................... 7,442
Our tenth distribution center in Ashley, Indiana, began operations in June 2012. Additionally, we began
construction on our eleventh distribution center in St. George, Utah, in the summer of fiscal 2012.
Competition
Our industry is highly competitive. The principal competitive factors include store locations, convenience,
price and quality of merchandise, in-stock consistency, merchandise assortment and presentation, and customer
service. We compete for sales and store locations in varying degrees with international, national, regional and
local retailing establishments, including discount stores, department stores, variety stores, dollar stores, discount
clothing stores, drug stores, grocery stores, convenience stores, outlet stores, warehouse stores and other
stores. Many other large U.S. retailers have stores in areas in which we operate. We believe that the relatively
small size of our stores permits us to operate new stores in most areas, including rural areas and large urban
markets, in locations convenient to our target customer.
Seasonality
Historically, sales have been highest in the second fiscal quarter (December, January, and February) in
connection with the holiday season, representing approximately 27% of total annual sales over the last five fiscal
years. Our quarterly results also can be impacted by the timing of certain holidays. We purchase significant
amounts of seasonal inventory during the first quarter in anticipation of the holiday season.
Trademarks
We have registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office the names Family Dollar®and Family Dollar
Stores®as service marks, and also have registered, or have filed registration applications for, other names and
designs as trademarks for certain merchandise sold in our stores, such as Family Gourmet®, Family Pet®, and
Kidgets®.
Employees
As of August 25, 2012, we had approximately 33,000 full-time employees and approximately 22,000 part-
time employees. None of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. We consider our
employee relations generally to be good.
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