When Dollar Tree purchased Family Dollar in 2015 for $9 billion, then-CEO Bob Sasser said the deal would expand the discount chain’s reach among low-income shoppers and diversify its assortment by adding a multi-price banner to its fixed-price business.

A decade later, Dollar Tree divested from Family Dollar in a $1 billion deal announced in March that has placed the business in the hands of private equity firms Brigade Capital Management and Macellum Capital Management.

“We look forward to continuing and enhancing Family Dollar as its own enterprise, which we are confident will drive greater success for the business and value for all of Family Dollar’s stakeholders, including employees, customers, and communities,” Matt Perkal, partner at Brigade, said in a statement.

So what went wrong? Autopsies of the merger abound, but some believe the problems go deeper than the two banners’ compatibility.

RJ Hottovy, head of analytical research at Placer.ai, told Retail Brew that Family Dollar failed to adopt what has become a key strength of competing discounters: the treasure hunt experience.

Keep reading here.—AV

As its stock dropped to a four-year low on April 4, Target also saw its foot traffic drop for the 10th consecutive week, a traffic slump that began the week after Target announced it was cancelling its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program in January.

For the week that began March 31, Target saw foot traffic drop 7.9% YoY, its worst drop since the week beginning February 17, when it dropped 8.1%, according to data from Placer.ai.

Costco, which defied demands from the Trump administration for private companies to spike their DEI programs, notched its 15th straight week of foot-traffic gains, although this week just by the skin of its teeth, with a gain of 0.3%.

The big-box retailers’ stock prices are trending in opposite directions, too, with their graph curves resembling up and down escalators criss-crossing at the mall.

Keep reading here.—AAN

The FDA is seeking public comment on a topic that may be pertinent to pet owners and the growing legal weed industry: Should animals use cannabis products? The regulatory agency is asking the public, particularly veterinarians, for information on usage trends, standards, and benefits and risks of pets using cannabis-derived products. So if you’ve got any knowledge on the topic, feel free to submit a comment before the deadline on Wednesday.

Here’s what else is going on in retail this week:

In data: Monthly retail sales data for March is coming out on Wednesday. The same measure was up 0.2% month over month in February and 3.1% from the year before. That report came in lower than expected, though nonstore (online) spending continued to be a bright spot. It also came in before Trump’s trade restrictions fully took effect, so this time around, there could be more scrutiny into whether consumers are already starting to pull back in response to economic fears related to tariffs.

Keep reading here.—AV