Rapidly growing discount chain Five Below coming to Iowa

Five Below, a rapidly expanding discount chain with about 750 stores in 33 states, is coming to the Corridor.

The Philadelphia-based company will open stores March 8 in Collins Crossing, 180 Collins Rd. NE, across from Lindale Mall, and Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville.

The Cedar Rapids location will be next to an ALDI, set to open later this year, which will be in the former Fresh Market space.

Five Below also plans to open stores this year in Council Bluffs, Des Moines and West Des Moines, Dubuque and Sioux City.

Founded in 2002, Five Below sells a variety of items, from books and electronics to clothes and craft supplies for under $5. The retailer is one of several chains - Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar - that have recently found success selling extremely low-priced products.

Five Below, which focuses on products that appeal to children, adolescents, teens and women, opened more than 100 new stores in 2018. It expects to open stores this year in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah

Five Below stores are typically located in strip shopping centers, rather than stand-alone buildings.

From 2010 to 2015, dollar-store sales grew from $30.4 billion to $45.3 billion in the United States, according to Business Insider.

Five Below, a publicly traded company, posted 24.6 percent net sales growth during the holiday period from Nov. 4, 2018, through Jan. 5, 2019. Comparable store sales for the same period increased by 4.9 percent.