Dollar General Plans to Open 1,000 More Stores This Year

If you love a discount you may be thrilled to learn that Dollar General is going to be opening up many more stores this year.

The company announced that it would build bigger stores and expand its new chain Popshelf that is aimed at higher-income, suburban customers.

Dollar General has aggressive plans to open 1,050 stores, relocate 100, and remodel 1,750.
The company’s CEO Todd Vasos told investors and analysts that the retailer will boost sales and profits by growing its footprint, selling more non-consumable items that have higher margins than food and appealing to a broader range of customers.

Dollar General is also testing both new locations and using the brand Popshelf to create a store within a store. Popshelf had been debuted last October.

“We are excited to introduce popshelf from a position of strength, further highlighting our innovative spirit and building on our proven track record of store format innovation,” said Vasos at the time. “We have leveraged robust consumer insights to create a unique store that we believe will resonate with new customers, while providing Dollar General with even more opportunities for growth in the years ahead.”

“Building on the success, learnings and insights from Dollar General’s non-consumables initiative (NCI), we are excited to unveil popshelf following our work to research, create and define the brand and merchandising offerings,” added Emily Taylor, Dollar General’s executive vice president and chief merchandising officer. “At popshelf, customers will find a differentiated retail concept that seeks to bring joy to their shopping experiences, with surprising deals in targeted non-consumable product categories. We are excited to welcome customers into these stores.”

Chief Operating Officer Jeff Owen said the retailer estimates it could add as many as 17,000 stores across the country. This would roughly double its footprint.

“Overall, our real estate pipeline remains robust and we are excited about the significant new store opportunities ahead,” he said.

Owen has also said that Dollar General will increase the square footage of its sales floor to make more room for coolers of produce and fresh meat, a bigger assortment of health and beauty products and additional checkout lanes.

Dollar General plans to have 50 Popshelf stores by the end of the fiscal year, more than its original goal of 30, Owen added.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article