Leon Levine, Family Dollar founder, dies

Leon Levine, who founded discount chain Family Dollar more than 60 years ago, died on Wednesday, according to a statement from his foundation. Levine was 85.

Levine opened the first Family Dollar location in Charlotte, North Carolina, in November 1959, and the retailer now has more than 8,000 stores. It was acquired by Dollar Tree in 2015 for about $8.5 billion.

“In 1958, a 21-year-old entrepreneur with an interest in merchandising became intrigued with the idea of operating a low-overhead, self-service retail store,” according to Family Dollar’s history on its website. “Leon believed he could offer his customers a variety of high-quality, good-value merchandise for under $2. Because he had grown up in his family’s retail store, he understood value, quality and customer satisfaction.”

In addition to his entrepreneurial work, Levine was also the force behind The Leon Levine Foundation, which provides grants to hundreds of non-profit organizations across North and South Carolina each year. The foundation partnered with Atrium Health to bolster cancer treatment, children’s health care and behavioral health in the area; worked to build a new home for the area’s Jewish Community; and created the Levine Center for the Arts, the organization said. The group also funds a scholarship program.

“The lessons he taught us were countless,” the foundation said in a statement. “He taught us to focus on leadership as the primary marker of a successful enterprise. He taught us to understand the business we were investing in and learn how our partnership could help with more than just dollars. He taught us how to empathize with our neighbors who needed a hand up to reach for self-sufficiency.”

Levine’s father died of a heart attack when he was 12, leaving him and his brother to help their mother run the family’s small department store, according to The Washington Post. The experience taught him much about the retail business.

“You quickly learned the customer is the most important person,” Levine later noted.

He eventually dropped out of college and used all the money he had—$3,000—to open the first Family Dollar, according to The Washington Post.

He remained with Family Dollar until his retirement as chairman in 2002.