Retailers that disregard Five Below as a competitor do so at their own peril. The Philadelphia-based discounter is one of the fastest growing retailers in the US. According to Chain Store Guide data, Five Below has grown at an average annual rate slightly greater than 20% over the past five years.

The company closed 2017 with 625 stores, having grown by 103 net units, or 19.7% on the year, and it has 125 stores on tap for 2018. Unlike many retailers that pull back at this stage in their growth cycle and settle on 100 or so units a year going forward, Five Below seems intent on maintaining an annual growth rate of 20%, which would push it past the 1,000 store mark in just a couple of years, as you can see below.

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