Five Below

Five Below Inc. (Stylized as fiVe BEL°W) is a publicly held American chain of specialty discount stores that sells products that cost up to $5, plus a small assortment of products from $6 to $10.[2] Founded by Tom Vellios and David Schlessinger and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the chain is aimed at tweens and teens.[2] There are 900 stores located across the United States.[2]

Five Below
Public
Traded as
IndustryDiscount store
Founded4 October 2002 (2002-10-04)
FoundersDavid Schlessinger, Tom Vellios
Headquarters
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
,
United States
Number of locations
Area served
United States—36 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$1,000,400,000 (FY 2016)[3]
US$114,300,000 (FY 2016)[3]
US$78,100,000 (FY 2016)[3]
Total assets US$500,500,000 (FY 2016)[3]
Number of employees
over 12,000
Websitefivebelow.com

Products and supplies

All products fall into the Five Below departments: New&Now, Create, Play, Candy, Room, Style, Party, and Ten Below Tech.[4]

History

David Schlessinger, founder of Encore Books and Zany Brainy, and Tom Vellios, former CEO of Zany Brainy founded Five Below.[5] In 2017, Five Below’s tagline of “hot stuff. cool prices.” changed to “let go & have fun!”

In 2020, all of the stores temporarily shut down because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Growth and expansion

To date, Five Below operates 900[6] stores in 36 states,[7][8] employing over 90,000 associates along with two distribution centres. It began its outward expansion away from the Philadelphia Metro area by entering the Illinois and Michigan markets in 2011;[pr 1] Georgia, Kansas, Missouri and Western Michigan in 2012;[pr 2] Texas in 2013;[9] Tennessee in 2014; Alabama, Florida and Kentucky[10] in 2015; Louisiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Wisconsin in 2016,[11] California in 2017 & Arkansas in 2018. Five Below in 2019 publicly[12] stated that they could build as many as 2,500 U.S. stores in the future. Arizona, Nebraska and Iowa were introduced that year. Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon & Utah will see store openings in 2020, once the pandemic subsides.[13]

In September 2014, the company announced a new lease agreement to move its New Castle, Delaware, distribution center to Oldmans Township, New Jersey.[pr 3] The new center would add 275 jobs to the local economy while Delaware would lose 175.[14]

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

Store experience

An average Five Below store size is 8,000 sq. ft.,[17] and each encompasses a full “treasure hunt”[18] shopping experience. Five Below highlights the actual store experience over the necessity of shopping. “It’s being swept-up in unpredictability that’s key: surprise mixed with affordability,” said David Makuen, executive vice president of marketing and strategy.[19] Five Below stores are designed to include loud music, animated store associates and copious colorful merchandise make up Five Below stores. “If you spend time in a dollar store or mass merchant like Target or Walmart, it’s not really about letting go because you’re there to meet your needs,” said Makuen. “Our purpose is really simple: We want customers to be able to let go and have fun.”

Five Below calls their store associates “The Wow Crew.”[20]

In 2016, Five Below launched FiveBelow.com, which consisted of an edited, curated assortment of products.[21] Today, Five Below sells thousands of products online.[22]

Corporate affairs

Headquarters

In 2018, Five Below moved its corporate headquarters, now called WowTown,[23] to the Lit Brothers Building in the Market East section of Philadelphia, PA, and has rights to more than 200,000 square feet.[24] 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.[25]

Since 2008, Five Below has participated in the annual Halloween Promotion benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.[26]

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.[27]

In 2018, Five Below became an official Toys for Tots sponsor.[28]

References
  1. Zhen, Justin (25 January 2016). "Thinknum Store Locations: Five Below". Thinknum.
  2. Lally, Terry (4 December 2014). "Watch Out Below When Five Below Reports Today, Target Price: $30". Seeking Alpha.
  3. "Five Below 2016 Annual Report". Five Below Investor Relations. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  4. "What can I buy at Five Below?". Five Below FAQ. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  5. "Zany Brainy execs to open discount chain". Philadelphia Business Journal. American City Business Journals. 23 October 2002. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  6. Holly Shively, Staff Writer. "Discount retailer adding 145 stores". daytondailynews. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  7. "Thinknum – Financial Analysis". Thinknum Financial Data Platform. Retrieved 2016-01-25.
  8. "Five Below, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2019".
  9. Smith, Rich (25 January 2013). "Five Below Expands Into Texas". The Motley Fool. United States.
  10. "Five Below is Coming to London". City of London, Kentucky. 2019-05-28. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  11. Staff (19 March 2014). "Five Below teen discount store opens 3 locations Friday". The Tennessean. United States.
  12. Kalogeropoulos, Demitrios (2019-04-02). "Five Below Explains How It Could Triple Its Store Count". The Motley Fool. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  13. Ford, George C. "Rapidly growing discount chain Five Below coming to Iowa". The Gazette. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  14. Nathans, Aaron (12 September 2014). "Delaware losing 175 jobs to New Jersey". DelawareOnline.
  15. Yousuf, Hibah (2012-07-19). "Five Below stock rallies 55% in debut - The Buzz - Investment and Stock Market News". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  16. "Five Below names COO and retail veteran Joel Anderson as CEO". Chain Store Age. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  17. "Five Below to Open Flagship Store on NYC's Fifth Avenue". InvestorPlace. 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  18. Staff, Motley Fool (2019-02-14). "Why Five Below Has Succeeded in a Tough Retail Market". The Motley Fool. 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". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  20. Much, Marilyn (2018-12-04). "Five Below CEO Joel Anderson Brings The Wow Factor To Retail". Investor's Business Daily. Retrieved 2020-01-17.
  21. "Will Five Below strike gold in California? – RetailWire". Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  22. "Five Below | let go & have fun". fivebelow.com. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  23. Parmley, Suzette. "Five Below moves into 'Wowtown' on Market Street". https://www.inquirer.com. Retrieved 2020-01-17. External link in |website= (help)
  24. Kostelni, Natalie (11 December 2011). "Five Below moving its HQ to 1818 Market St". Philadelphia Business Journal.
  25. "Five Below". Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer. 2011-04-04. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  26. "Five Below". stjude.org. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  27. Berman, Nat (2019-03-01). "20 Things You Didn't Know About Five Below". Money Inc. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  28. "Toys For Tots". fivebelow.com. Retrieved 2020-01-07.

Press releases
  1. "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.
  2. "Five Below Opens First 7 Stores in Atlanta" (Press release). FiveBelow. 1 June 2012 – via Business Wire.
  3. "Five Below Signs Lease for New Distribution Center in Southern New Jersey" (Press release). FiveBelow. 9 September 2014.
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