National chain Dollar Tree, which has MoCo locations in Damascus, Derwood, Gaithersburg, Germantown, Montgomery Village, Rockville, and Silver Spring, has begun adding “Dollar Tree Plus” sections to area stores. Items in the “Plus” section will be priced $3 and $5.  New higher priced items include cookware, headphones, chargers, and t-shirts (Baby Yoda, Lilo & Stich, etc.)  similar to those found at FiveBelow.

In January, Dollar Tree raised the price of all items in their stores from $1 to $1.25. The company said the price hike was not a result of inflation, but rather to “allow the company to offer a wider range of merchandise.” Regarding the new “Plus” pricing, Dollar Tree’s President and CEO Michael Witynski  said, “For decades, our customers have enjoyed the ‘thrill-of-the-hunt’ for value at one dollar – and we remain committed to that core proposition – but many are telling us that they also want a broader product assortment when they come to shop. We believe testing additional price points above $1 for Dollar Tree product will enable us over time to expand our assortments, introduce new products and meet more of our customers’ everyday needs.”