Five Below

 ( Www.fivebelow.com Official Website ) 

Five Below, Inc. is an American chain of specialty discount store gift shops that prices most of its products at $5 or less, plus a smaller assortment of products priced up to $40. Founded in 2002 by Tom Vellios and David Schlessinger and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the chain is aimed at tweens and teens. There are over 1,850 stores located across the United States.

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History David Schlessinger, founder of Encore Books and Zany Brainy, and Tom Vellios, former CEO of Zany Brainy, founded Five Below on October 4, 2002 in Wayne, Pennsylvania.

On March 18, 2020, Five Below announced the temporary closing of all stores due to the COVID-19 outbreak. However, as of June 6, 2025, 100% of Five Below stores across the United States reopened with plans for new stores to open up.

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Growth and expansion To date, Five Below operates over 1,800 stores in 44 states, employing over 30,000 associates along with five distribution centers. It began its outward expansion away from the Philadelphia Metro area by entering additional out-of-state markets: Illinois and Michigan in 2011; Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, and Western Michigan in 2012; Texas in 2013; Tennessee in 2014; Alabama, Florida, and Kentucky in 2015; Louisiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Wisconsin in 2016; California in 2017; and Arkansas in 2018. Five Below in 2019 publicly stated that they could build as many as 2,500 U.S. stores in the future. Arizona, Iowa, and Nebraska were introduced that year. Colorado and Nevada were added in 2020; New Mexico and Utah in 2021. Both Dakotas had opened new stores in 2022. Vermont joined in the next year. Wyoming was added in 2024. Fall 2025 will see the first store in Washington open. Idaho, Montana & Oregon are to open later.

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

On July 19, 2012, Five Below went public on the NASDAQ at the share price of $17. In 2014, Joel Anderson was appointed CEO. 2016 sales were $1 billion, 2017 sales were $1.3 billion, and 2022 sales reached $3.08 billion." 2022 Annual Report". Five Below. Retrieved March 29, 2024.

On July 16, 2024, Five Below announced Joel Anderson had resigned from his roles as president and CEO to pursue other interests. Following his departure, Five Below's shares fell by 25%. On the same day Petco named him as their new CEO.

In July 2024, Chief Operating Officer, Kenneth Bull, was appointed interim president and CEO of Five Below before being replaced by former Forever 21 CEO, Winnie Park, in December 2024. Park is a Princeton University graduate with an MBA from Northwestern University. Prior to joining Five Below, she had been the CEO of Forever 21 since January 2022. She also served as the CEO of Paper Source.

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Store format The average Five Below store size is . The store carries a wide variety of merchandise at varying low costs.

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Corporate affairs

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Headquarters In 2018, Five Below moved its corporate headquarters, now called WowTown, to the Lit Brothers in the Market East section of Philadelphia, and has rights to more than 200,000 square feet. WowTown has over 300 employees. Five Below moves into 'Wowtown' on Market Street

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Philanthropy Since 2005, Five Below has contributed over $60 million for organizations around the country who focus on the well-being of children.[3] They have partnered with and supported Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation with the sale of lemonade bracelets, gift cards and pin-ups.

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

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.

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

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Press releases

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External links

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