Five Below

Five Below Inc. (stylized as fiVe BEL°W) is an American chain of specialty discount stores that sells products that are less than $5, plus a small assortment of products from $6 to $25.[2] Founded by Tom Vellios and David Schlessinger and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the chain is aimed at tweens and teens.[2] There are over 1,100 stores located across the United States.[2]

Five Below, Inc.
TypePublic company
IndustryDiscount store
FoundedOctober 4, 2002 (2002-10-04)
FoundersDavid Schlessinger, Tom Vellios
Headquarters
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
,
United States
Number of locations
  • 1,100+ (2021)[1]
  • 353 (2014)[2]
Area served
United States—40 states[2]
Key people
Joel D. Anderson (CEO)
Productssports, games, fashion accessories, bath and body, candy and beverages, room décor and storage, stationery and school supplies, books, smartphone accessories, novelty and gag items, seasonal items
Revenue US$2.848 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended January 29, 2022)[3]
US$379.880 Million (Fiscal Year Ended January 29, 2022)[3]
US$278.810 Million (Fiscal Year Ended January 29, 2022)[3]
Total assets US$2.880 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended January 29, 2022)[3]
Total equity US$1.120 Billion (Fiscal Year Ended January 29, 2022)[3]
Number of employees
over 14,000
Websitefivebelow.com

History

David Schlessinger, founder of Encore Books and Zany Brainy, and Tom Vellios, former CEO of Zany Brainy, founded Five Below on October 4, 2002.[4]

On March 18, 2020, Five Below announced the temporary closing of all stores due to the COVID-19 outbreak.[pr 1] However, as of May 29, 2020, 75% of Five Below stores across the United States reopened with plans for new stores to open up.[pr 2]

Growth and expansion

To date, Five Below operates over 1,100[5] stores in 40 states,[6][7] employing over 90,000 associates along with two distribution centers. It began its outward expansion away from the Philadelphia Metro area by entering additional out-of-state markets: Illinois and Michigan in 2011;[pr 3] Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, and Western Michigan in 2012;[pr 4] Texas in 2013;[8] Tennessee in 2014; Alabama, Florida, and Kentucky[9] in 2015; Louisiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Wisconsin in 2016;[10] California in 2017; and Arkansas in 2018. Five Below in 2019 publicly[11] stated that they could build as many as 2,500 U.S. stores in the future. Arizona, Iowa, and Nebraska were introduced that year. Colorado and Nevada were added in 2020; New Mexico and Utah in 2021. Both Dakotas had opened new stores in 2022. Oregon and Washington are to open later.[12]

In September 2014, the company announced a new lease agreement to move its New Castle, Delaware, distribution center to Oldmans Township, New Jersey.[pr 5] The new center would add 275 jobs to the local economy while Delaware would lose 175.[13]

On July 19, 2012, Five Below went public on the NASDAQ at the share price of $17.[14] In 2014, Joel Anderson was appointed CEO.[15] 2016 sales hit $1,000 million, 2017 sales hit $1,300 million and 2018 sales hit $1,560 million.[16]

Store format

The average Five Below store size is 8,000 square feet (740 m2).[17][18] The store specializes mainly in carrying a wide variety of merchandise at a low price.[19]

Corporate affairs

Headquarters

In 2018, Five Below moved its corporate headquarters, now called WowTown,[20] to the Lit Brothers Building in the Market East section of Philadelphia, PA, and has rights to more than 200,000 square feet. WowTown has over 300 employees.

Philanthropy

Since 2005, Five Below has contributed over $19 million for organizations around the country who focus on the well-being of children. They have partnered with and supported Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation with the sale of lemonade bracelets, gift cards and pin-ups.[21]

Since 2008, Five Below has participated in the annual Halloween Promotion benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.[22]

After Hurricane Sandy, Five Below partnered with the American Red Cross and collected over $50,000 through a $1 donation at the register program. The company then doubled all donations resulting in a donation in the total of $100,000.[23]

In 2018, Five Below became an official Toys for Tots sponsor.[24]

References
  1. "About Five Below". fivebelow.com. 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  2. Lally, Terry (4 December 2014). "Watch Out Below When Five Below Reports Today, Target Price: $30". Seeking Alpha.
  3. "Five Below, Inc. Full Year 2021 Form 10-K Report" (PDF). cloudfront.net. 29 January 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  4. "Zany Brainy execs to open discount chain". Philadelphia Business Journal. American City Business Journals. 23 October 2002. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  5. Holly Shively. "Discount retailer adding 145 stores". daytondailynews. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  6. "Thinknum – Financial Analysis". Thinknum Financial Data Platform. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  7. "Five Below, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2019".
  8. Smith, Rich (25 January 2013). "Five Below Expands Into Texas". The Motley Fool. United States.
  9. "Five Below is Coming to London". City of London, Kentucky. 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  10. Staff (19 March 2014). "Five Below teen discount store opens 3 locations Friday". The Tennessean. United States.
  11. Kalogeropoulos, Demitrios (2019-04-02). "Five Below Explains How It Could Triple Its Store Count". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  12. Ford, George C. "Rapidly growing discount chain Five Below coming to Iowa". The Gazette. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  13. Nathans, Aaron (12 September 2014). "Delaware losing 175 jobs to New Jersey". DelawareOnline.
  14. Yousuf, Hibah (2012-07-19). "Five Below stock rallies 55% in debut – The Buzz – Investment and Stock Market News". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  15. "Five Below names COO and retail veteran Joel Anderson as CEO". Chain Store Age. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  16. "Five Below 2016 Annual Report". Five Below Investor Relations. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  17. "Five Below to Open Flagship Store on NYC's Fifth Avenue". InvestorPlace. 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  18. "Why Five Below Has Succeeded in a Tough Retail Market". The Motley Fool. 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  19. Telford, Taylor (2018-12-28). "Five Below is a wonderland of things no one needs. It's also one of the most successful retailers in America". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  20. Parmley, Suzette. "Five Below moves into 'Wowtown' on Market Street". inquirer.com. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  21. "Five Below". Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer. 2011-04-04. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  22. "Five Below". stjude.org. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  23. Berman, Nat (2019-03-01). "20 Things You Didn't Know About Five Below". Money Inc. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  24. "Toys For Tots". fivebelow.com. Retrieved 2020-01-07.

Press releases
  1. "Five Below Provides COVID-19 Related Business Update" (Press release). Five Below. 18 March 2020.
  2. "Five Below Announces Over 75% Stores Reopened" (Press release). Five Below. 29 May 2020.
  3. "Five Below, the Five-and-Dime for the iPod Generation, Debuts First Detroit-Area Stores" (Press release). Five Below. 13 July 2011 – via Business Wire.
  4. "Five Below Opens First 7 Stores in Atlanta" (Press release). FiveBelow. 1 June 2012 – via Business Wire.
  5. "Five Below Signs Lease for New Distribution Center in Southern New Jersey" (Press release). FiveBelow. 9 September 2014.
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