Low-cost merchandiser to open Dublin warehouse

DUBLIN - General merchandise chain Fred&#39;s Inc. has announced plans to build a $25 million distribution center here, bringing 150 to 250 jobs. <br> <br> Dublin beat out Vienna for the center. <br> <br> ``When our management team visited, we just really fell in love with Laurens County,&#39;&#39; said Fred&#39;s CEO Michael Hayes, who made the announcement Friday at the Dublin Airport. <br> <br> Construction is scheduled to begin in April and be completed by March 2003. The 600,000-square-foot facility will serve 125 stores in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. <br> <br> The Dublin City Council already has approved a tax-break package for the center similar to the arrangement with Best Buy Inc., which last year opened a $45 million, 700,000-square-foot distribution center near the Fred&#39;s site. <br> <br> Fred&#39;s, based in Memphis, Tenn., operates 385 stores plus 26 franchised stores in 11 Southeastern states. The stores offer low-cost merchandise similar to Family Dollar and Dollar General.