only stores updated logo type private industry discount variety store founded february 28 1969 commerce california founder dave gold headquarters commerce california united states number of locations 394 1 key people geoff covert ceo revenue 1.30 billion 2009 operating income 12.91 million 2009 net income 8.48 million 2009 total assets 662.87 million 2009 total equity 523.85 million 2009 owner ares management and the canada pension plan investment board number of employees 11 500 2009 website 99only . com 99 cents only store murrieta california 99 cents only stores is an american price point retailer chain based in commerce california . previously the store offered all products at 99 or less . 2 most products are now priced at 99.99 or less but certain products are sold at higher price points . founded by david gold in february 28 1969 most of the stores are located in southern california with others in nevada texas and arizona . the company also operates bargain wholesale which sells wholesale to retailers across the united states and exports to more than 15 countries from showrooms in los angeles . it also exhibits at trade shows in las vegas and chicago . contents 1 history 1.1 1980s 1.2 2000s 1.3 2010s 2 popular culture 3 references 4 external links history edit 99 cents only store north hollywood california 1980s edit gold first came up with the idea as a means to liquidate slow selling wines at his liquor store . whenever i d put wine or cheese on sale for 1.02 or 98 cents it never sold out gold said in 2001 interview with the los angeles times . when i put a 99 cent sign on anything it was gone in no time . i realized it was a magic number . 3 after prompting from a friend he then created a full store of these bargains . to get publicity he sold televisions for only 99 cents on the first day then had family members calling tv stations to ask about the commotion caused by the lines . the practice continues today as a brand new 99 cents only store will sell a high priced item for 99 cents to the first nine customers in line on opening day and other limited prices for the next 90 new opening day customers . despite its image the company operates a basic information technology operation with a computer system ordering stockers in the distribution center and point of sale registers tracking purchases at every store . 4 the texas distribution center is a former albertsons facility bought when that company exited the houston market . 2000s edit in november 2003 a more flexible pricing structure was implemented where items are sold for prices lower than 99 cents for example 69 or 49 cents . the management believes that this will permit better management of commodity price increases . 5 in september 2007 the company raised its highest price from 99 cents to 99.99 cents ; the first increase in the history of the franchise to combat dramatically rising costs and inflation . however now the store carries select items that are over the .99 price point ; such as 1.99 and 2.99 . 6 despite having announced on september 18 2008 that the company would close all stores in texas in february 2009 the company decided that it will close only one third of its texas stores . the company quoted a rise in sales and plans to keep the stores open as long as the stores remain profitable . 7 8 2010s edit in october 2011 the company agreed to a 1.6 billion buy out by private equity firm ares management and the canada pension plan investment board . 9 the deal was completed on january 13 2012 . new ownership decided to lay off 172 plus employees october 2013 . 10 the gold family ended their involvement with the company in january 2013 . popular culture edit 99 cents only stores advertises that it is open 9 days a week often invoking humorous commentary on holidays with products sold for 99 cents . one advertisement wished joan rivers happy 99th facelift ; another congratulated the los angeles dodgers on losing 99 games . 3 the company also celebrates the 99th birthday of public figures and names 99 year old individuals as honorary spokespersons . photographer andreas gursky s diptych of the inside of the hollywood california 99 cents only store became at the time the most expensive photograph ever sold in february 2007 auctioned for 3.3 million . 11 references edit 99 cents only store dallas texas khouri andrew january 25 2013 . 99 cents only stores family management team departs . los angeles times . retrieved 17 may 2015 . chang andrea 2010 07 22 . 99 cents only stores sued over price increase . los angeles times . retrieved 21 november 2010 . a b li shan april 26 2013 . dave gold dies at 80 ; entrepreneur behind 99 cents only chain . los angeles times . rae dupree janet january 1 2004 . case study 99 cents only stores efficient it infrastructure . cio insight . retrieved 17 may 2015 . 99 cents only stores r announces a 5.2 million loss for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 ended september 30 2007 . business wire press release . 8 november 2007 . retrieved 17 may 2015 . jinks beth & burke heather 8 september 2008 . 99 cents only stores raises top price to 99.99 cents update2 . bloomberg . archived from the original on 2015 06 20 . welch creighton a. september 18 2008 . 99 cents only closing all its texas stores . san antonio express news . archived from the original on 2008 09 20 . halkias maria february 4 2009 . 99 cents only stores to stay open in texas after all . dallas morning news . archived from the original on 2009 04 04 . chang andrea & li shan 12 october 2011 . 99 cents only stores agrees to .6 billion buyout . los angeles times . 99 cents only stores nyse ndn quotes & news google finance . google finance . retrieved 17 may 2015 . public auction list . artnet.com . retrieved 17 may 2015 . dead link external links edit los angeles portal companies portal official 99 only stores website coffey brendan september 30 2002 . every penny counts . forbes . market intelligence center dead link brott tamar august 2001 . the price is right why wall street loves dave gold s 99 cent only empire . los angeles magazine . 46 8 . pp. 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 . issn 1522 9149 . v t e variety stores asia 100 yen shop japan daiso china hong kong japan macau malaysia philippines singapore taiwan thailand living plaza by aeon hong kong watashi to seikatsu hong kong europe 99p stores uk action netherlands b & m uk bargain buys uk coop city switzerland el corte ingl s spain dealz ireland eurogiant ireland euroland netherlands flying tiger copenhagen denmark hema netherlands home bargains uk karstadt germany manor switzerland migros switzerland monoprix france poundgiant uk poundland uk poundstretcher uk poundworld uk quality save uk upim italy zeeman netherlands north america 99 cents only stores us big lots us a buck or two canada casa ley mexico daiso canada us deals us dollar general us dollar tree us dollar tree canada canada dollarama canada family dollar us five below us fred s us great canadian dollar store canada hart stores canada k dollar us ollie s bargain outlet us ocean state job lot us rossy canada waldo s dollar mart mexico your dollar store with more canada oceania abc stores guam daiso australia crazy clark s australia defunct the reject shop australia retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title 99 cents only stores & oldid 741208329 categories variety storesdiscount stores of the united statesretail companies based in californiacompanies based in los angeles county californiacommerce californiaretail companies established in 19691969 establishments in californiacompanies listed on the new york stock exchangeeconomy of the southwestern united stateshidden categories all articles with dead external linksarticles with dead external links from december 2015pages using infobox company with unsupported parameters navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages edit links this page was last modified on 26 september 2016 at 02 08 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; 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