<p> Will Wal-Mart potentially acquire Family Dollar? Credit Suisse’s Michael Exstein, a well-respected analyst at the firm, has issued a note suggesting how and why the retail giant should acquire the dollar store.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> In the note, Exstein claims, “Wal-Mart has signaled a need to fill the small format hole in its store portfolio to compete for its core customer in the ‘fill-in’ trip.” Exstein goes on to suggest that Wal-Mart’s President and CEO, Doug McMillon, needs to prioritize a small store strategy and “aggressively pursue that strategy.”<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> It’s not much of a surprise, considering that dollar stores like Family Dollar and Dollar General are supposedly cheaper than Wal-Mart on average, according to Philly.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Even if Wal-Mart wasn’t interested, this Exstein’s note will inevitably interest other investors, especially for Family Dollar. Neither retailer is currently in talks with the other about a potential acquisition, however. A number of Family Dollar shareholders also believe that the company wouldn’t be willing to do a deal.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Wal-Mart recently announced plans to open 120-150 small format stores in 2014, but will it be enough to compete with the expansion of dollar stores? The company plans to expand the concept to 700 stores by 2017.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> With dollar stores becoming an increasingly large threat in the market, especially as the number of these discount stores pile up in the U.S., it will be interesting to see if Wal-Mart will make a move sometime in the future.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue following this potential acquisition.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/Falling-prices-Dollar-Stores-out-cheaping-Walmart.html" target="_new"> Philly </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://stock.walmart.com" target="_new"> Wal-Mart </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
