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Dollar General pushes ahead with brick-and-mortar expansion

Another 700 stores to carry fresh produce by year-end, pilot of all self-checkout under way

Russell Redman

May 27, 2022

4 Min Read
Dollar General store-exterior-corner.png
Dollar General opened 239 new stores in the 2022 first quarter as part of 1,110 new locations planned for the full fiscal year.Dollar General

Deep discount retailer Dollar General continued to drive growth in its store base in announcing increased sales for the fiscal 2022 first quarter.

Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based Dollar General said yesterday that net sales for the first quarter ended April 29 rose 4.2% to $8.8 billion from $8.4 billion a year earlier, driven mainly by sales contributions from new stores and partially offset by a dip in same-store sales and store closings.

Comparable-store sales decreased 0.1% compared to the first quarter of 2021, driven by a decline in customer traffic, partially offset by an increase in average transaction amount. Same-store sales in the first quarter of 2022 declined in each of the seasonal, apparel, and home products categories, offset by an increase in the consumables category.

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Over 2,300 Dollar General stores offered fresh produce as of Q1's end, and the retailer expects that number to rise to more than 3,000 by the end of 2022 and to 10,000-plus over time.

During first quarter of 2022, Dollar General opened 239 new stores, remodeled 532 locations and relocated 32 stores. The company closed out the quarter with 18,356 stores in 47 states.

“With more than 18,000 stores located within five miles of about 75% of the U.S. population, we believe we are well-positioned to continue supporting our customers through our unique combination of value and convenience, especially in a more challenging economic environment,” Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos told analysts in a conference call on Thursday. “Looking ahead, we remain focused on advancing our operating priorities and strategic initiatives as we continue to strengthen our competitive position, while further differentiating Dollar General from the rest of the retail landscape.”

Related:Dollar General kicks off DoorDash delivery

For the full 2022 fiscal year, Dollar General reaffirmed plans to open 1,110 new stores and complete 1,750 remodels and 120 relocations.

“We expect approximately 800 of our new stores in 2022 to be in our larger 8,500-square-foot store format as we respond to our customers' desire for even wider product selection,” Chief Operating Officer Jeff Owen said in the call. “With about 1,200 square feet of additional selling space compared to a traditional store, these larger formats allow for expanded high-capacity cooler counts, an extended queue line and a broader product assortment, including NCI [non-consumables initiative], our larger health-and-beauty offering and produce in many stores.”

Dollar General cooler doors-frozen food.jpgDollar General expects to install another 65,000 cooler doors in stores this year after deploying 17,000 in the first quarter. (Photo courtesy of Dollar General)

On the consumables front, Dollar General completed the chainwide rollout of DG Fresh — its program to shift to self-distribution of frozen and refrigerated foods and beverages and boost sales in those categories — last year and is now delivering to more than 18,000 stores from 12 facilities.

Related:Dollar Tree names chief supply chain officer, Family Dollar chief merchant

“Looking ahead, we expect to realize additional benefits from DG Fresh, as we continue to optimize our network, further leverage our scale, deliver even wider product selection and build on our multiyear track record of growth in cooler doors and associated sales,” Owen explained. “And while produce is not included in our initial rollout, we continue to believe that DG Fresh provides a potential path forward to expanding our produce offering to more than 10,000 stores over time. To that end, we offered produce in more than 2,300 stores at the end of the first quarter, with plans to expand this offering to a total of more than 3,000 stores by the end of 2022.”

In the first quarter, Dollar General we deployed more than 17,000 cooler doors across its store base, and the retailer expects to install another 65,000 cooler doors during 2022. “Importantly, despite the meaningful improvements we have made to date as a result of DG Fresh, we believe we still have significant incremental opportunity to drive additional returns with this initiative in the years ahead,” Owen added.

Self-checkout also will become more prominent in Dollar General stores as part of the company’s Fast Track initiative. As of the end of Q1, self-checkout was available in over 8,000 stores, and Owen said customer adoption rates have been strong.

“As a result of the success of self-checkout and popularity with customers, we have recently launched a pilot of stores that are entirely self-checkout,” he noted. “While our associates will remain available to assist customers if needed in these stores, we believe this 100% self-checkout option could further enhance the convenience proposition, while enabling our associates to dedicate even more time to serving customers. We plan to ultimately test this layout in about 200 stores throughout 2022.

“Looking ahead,” Owen added. “we are on track to expand our self-checkout offering to a total of up to 11,000 stores by the end of the year, as we look to further extend our position as an innovative leader in small-box discount retail.”

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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