The Deal$ units are in 16 states, mostly in the Southeast and Midwest, and average 11,000 sf. The acquisition brings Dollar Tree's total store count, between its namesake stores and Deal$, to 3,097 units.

Deal$ stores offer general merchandise at deep discounts, but the prices are not strictly $1 like Dollar Tree units. Dollar Tree will keep the Deal$ name on the stores and might look at integrating different price points into its flagship chain, said Bob Sasser, Dollar Tree's president and chief executive officer, during a conference call with analysts last month.

"We'd like to explore some other ways of retailing," he said, explaining that some Dollar Tree customers could be shopping elsewhere for large plastics items, like trash cans, that can't be sold for $1. But Sasser stressed that changing the merchandise in Dollar Trees is "way out there in the horizon right now."