Family Dollar CEO Levine to ABC's 'Nightline'

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Howard Levine, CEO of Matthews-based Family Dollar, was set to appear on Tuesday's edition of "Nightline," talking about the growth of dollar stores and defending the practice of importing cheap goods from overseas.

The "Nightline" story is about the rapid growth of dollar store chains, which have become a $56 billion industry. The major chains, including Dollar General and Dollar Tree, have opened thousands of new stores over the past years.

During the segment, Levine told the interviewer he doesn't mind when he - or his 7,550 stores - are called cheap.

"If somebody told me I was cheap, I would take that as a compliment," Levine said. "That means we are looking for value. That means we don't overpay for stuff."

He also defended the fact that about a third of the goods the company sells are made overseas, much of it in China, as a necessity. "Unfortunately, a lot of manufacturing has gone overseas," Levine said. "They have a cheap way of doing it and consumers accept it. There is no backlash from that so you got to go where you get the value and you got to go where you have the workmanship and the factories to do that."

So, did you see the video? What did you think?

(Editor's note: The show featuring Levine was bumped for extra coverage of a mall shooting in Oregon that happened earlier in the day).