Former Walmart exec to lead the stand-alone Family Dollar business
by July 8, 2025 3:42 pm 10,303 views
Duncan MacNaughton, a former head of merchandising at Walmart, is the chairman and CEO of Family Dollar following a sale of the brand by Chesapeake, Va.-based Dollar Tree.
Dollar Tree completed the sale of its Family Dollar brand for roughly $1 billion in cash to private equity firms Brigade Capital Management and Macellum Capital Management.
MacNaughton preciously served as president and chief operating officer for Family Dollar between 2017 and 2019. He returned as chairman for the retail brand in April. He was chief merchandising officer at Walmart and held executive roles at Albertson’s, H-E-B and SuperValu during his 30-year retail career.
“This is a chance to return to our roots and refocus on our unique strengths while we build a new Family Dollar for the communities we proudly serve,” said MacNaughton. “We’re energized by the opportunity to stand on our own and reimagine what value means for families across America,”
He said Family Dollar will be in a better position to empower its employees and shape a bold future. The dollar store business will remain headquartered in Chesapeake, Va., with a focus on serving the underserved.
Jason Nordin, who joined the business in October 2023 as chief of stores under the Dollar Tree ownership, will continue to be president of Family Dollar and work with MacNaughton to improve the business that has struggled under the Dollar Tree ownership.
Dollar Tree purchased Family Dollar in 2015 for about $9 billion, but struggled to manage the business. Working to blend the store brands into one retail store in smaller communities, Dollar Tree ended up closing around 600 Family Dollar locations in early 2024. But in early 2025, Dollar Tree explored the sale of the business, which has more than 7,000 locations and was once a stand-alone business.
Dollar Tree expects the economic impact of the tax benefits from losses on the sales to be approximately $375 million. The retailer operates more than 9,000 stores and 18 U.S. distribution centers, and a smaller business in Canada.