Dollar General To Open 800 Stores In 2024

[Alpha8472]

The CEO says he was not satisfied by the company's performance. Same store sales are down and shrink is increasing. He says the company will increase upfront staffing to combat shrink.

Dollar General like many discount stores seems to attract a really scary crowd. It is a store you want to steer clear of.

https://chainstoreage.com/dollar-genera ... ops-street

[Super S]

The CEO says he was not satisfied by the company's performance. Same store sales are down and shrink is increasing. He says the company will increase upfront staffing to combat shrink.

Dollar General like many discount stores seems to attract a really scary crowd. It is a store you want to steer clear of.

https://chainstoreage.com/dollar-genera ... ops-street

The "scary crowd", just like larger stores such as Walmart, truly depends on the area. In larger cities, yes, there are questionable crowds. This is reflected in how stores such as Walmart and Target have scaled back in the Portland area.

However, I have been to many Walmart and Dollar General locations in smaller towns, and find them overall to be much more pleasant than those in larger towns. Dollar General in particular, because they are locating in more rural areas, seems to have a more localized customer base at those locations.

Shrink is an issue that is less prevalent at the more rural locations, as evidenced by fewer items locked up.

[wnetmacman]

Another part of that discussion by Todd Vasos includes a retreat on their Self Checkout policy. Evidently, it's not going as they planned. I have seen customers walk out of a Dollar General store because the regular checkout was not available, and they did not wish to check themselves out.

[storewanderer]

Another part of that discussion by Todd Vasos includes a retreat on their Self Checkout policy. Evidently, it's not going as they planned. I have seen customers walk out of a Dollar General store because the regular checkout was not available, and they did not wish to check themselves out.

I don't see anything about a retreat on the self checkout policy, where is that?

I see comments about an increase in checkout staffing.

Dollar General long before self checkout rarely had more than one employee up front. But as you point out some locations once self checkout was installed that turned into zero staffing.

[storewanderer]

If you look at their $276 million of profits last quarter and divide it by 19,000 stores that is only $14,000 average profit per store in the last quarter. That is really low.

Say they are open an average of 12 hours per day, add one additional employee daily, for the next ~90 day quarter, and average payroll cost for that employee is $12/hour after taxes etc., and that is over $12,000 of additional expense. Without increasing sales or other cost savings from adding that other employee there goes their profits for their entire company.

I do think they could get a lot of extra sales if they ran the stores better...

[veteran+]

I would love to see this chain disappear along with its "kin".

It is the ever evolving descent into deep subpar retailing. The more one cannot afford to shop in others stores the poorer one gets and the more one perpetuates the decline in retail grocery.

It has been called the "Walmart Effect".

Cheap prices are NOT free. Amongst the costs are low wages and unaffordable health insurance and a reliance on "social services" along with poor working conditions. Customers lose service, quality and get to pay more taxes for "social services" and there is many other losses for employees, customers and society.

This has been studied and peer reviewed by smarter people than most of us here


Just sayin.........................

[wnetmacman]

I would love to see this chain disappear along with its "kin".

It is the ever evolving descent into deep subpar retailing. The more one cannot afford to shop in others stores the poorer one gets and the more one perpetuates the decline in retail grocery.

It has been called the "Walmart Effect".

Cheap prices are NOT free. Amongst the costs are low wages and unaffordable health insurance and a reliance on "social services" along with poor working conditions. Customers lose service, quality and get to pay more taxes for "social services" and there is many other losses for employees, customers and society.

This has been studied and peer reviewed by smarter people than most of us here


Just sayin.........................

Dollar General, et al, are many things, but they are not cheap. Their prices sit between Walmart and standard supermarkets.

What gives the 'cheap' aura is that the stores are inexpensively built, inexpensively maintained, and inexpensively staffed to the point of neglect. In order for this model to make *any* money, there cannot be more than two employees working at any one time or they go over labor cost. They cannot carry much that is perishable lest it be in store too long and it goes bad. There are so many factors that go into running one of these that it would make the average individual go insane. Consider next that most employees have to live at poverty level to work there, or are just not skilled in properly working the job, and it's a disaster waiting to happen (or already happening).

[J-Man]

Why is this in the Supermarket category when all other Dollar General posts have been in "Specialty Retail Chains"?

[storewanderer]

I would love to see this chain disappear along with its "kin".

It is the ever evolving descent into deep subpar retailing. The more one cannot afford to shop in others stores the poorer one gets and the more one perpetuates the decline in retail grocery.

It has been called the "Walmart Effect".

Cheap prices are NOT free. Amongst the costs are low wages and unaffordable health insurance and a reliance on "social services" along with poor working conditions. Customers lose service, quality and get to pay more taxes for "social services" and there is many other losses for employees, customers and society.

This has been studied and peer reviewed by smarter people than most of us here


Just sayin.........................

Dollar General, et al, are many things, but they are not cheap. Their prices sit between Walmart and standard supermarkets.

What gives the 'cheap' aura is that the stores are inexpensively built, inexpensively maintained, and inexpensively staffed to the point of neglect. In order for this model to make *any* money, there cannot be more than two employees working at any one time or they go over labor cost. They cannot carry much that is perishable lest it be in store too long and it goes bad. There are so many factors that go into running one of these that it would make the average individual go insane. Consider next that most employees have to live at poverty level to work there, or are just not skilled in properly working the job, and it's a disaster waiting to happen (or already happening).

Their pricing has really been creeping up especially in some categories. They still keep a lot of items at $1 that went to 1.25 or 1.499999 at competition for same or similar items but are making it up elsewhere in the store.

I think the disaster is already happening but significant damage and irreparable carnage to small town independent grocers has been done.

I question the 800 stores next year also. They do still have a lot of fill in to do in the Intermountain states though so maybe.

At least those who hate Wal Mart can take comfort in knowing this chain has also taken significant business from Wal Mart and also caused Wal Mart to blow hundreds of millions of dollars on that failed Wal Mart Express format to try to chase Dollar General.

I'd like to see a wage analysis between this chain and Wal Mart. Currently in Reno, Wal Mart has hiring signs up for various positions the lowest being cashier $17/hr and the highest being tire and lube associate at $22/hr. These are quite higher than grocery store wages let alone General merchandise retailers.

[ClownLoach]

I would love to see this chain disappear along with its "kin".

It is the ever evolving descent into deep subpar retailing. The more one cannot afford to shop in others stores the poorer one gets and the more one perpetuates the decline in retail grocery.

It has been called the "Walmart Effect".

Cheap prices are NOT free. Amongst the costs are low wages and unaffordable health insurance and a reliance on "social services" along with poor working conditions. Customers lose service, quality and get to pay more taxes for "social services" and there is many other losses for employees, customers and society.

This has been studied and peer reviewed by smarter people than most of us here


Just sayin.........................

Here we can agree, although I am curious to understand how they handle the one significant difference between them and Walmart... Walmart famously ran everyone out of town and then raised prices. Dollar General can't raise their prices. Is their strategy then to just slash expenses to the bone to intentionally deliver a crap experience now that the competition is gone in these small towns?