Description
Dollar General Corporation is an American chain of variety stores headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. As of January 2020, Dollar General operates 16,278 stores in the continental United States.
The company began in 1939 as a family-owned business called J.L. Turner and Son in Scottsville, Kentucky, owned by James Luther Turner and Cal Turner. In 1955, the name changed to Dollar General Corporation and in 1968 the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange. Fortune 500 recognized Dollar General in 1999 and in 2020 reached #112. Dollar General has grown to become one of the most profitable stores in the rural United States with revenue reaching around $27 billion in 2019.
History
1968–2002
The company Cal Turner co-founded went public as Dollar General Corporation in 1968, posting annual sales of more than $40 million and net income in excess of $1.5 million. In 1977, Cal Turner, Jr., who joined the company in 1965 as the third generation Turner, succeeded his father as president of Dollar General. Cal Jr. led the company until his retirement in 2002. Under his leadership, the company grew to more than 6,000 stores and $6 billion in sales. In 1997 a distribution center was established in South Boston, Virginia.
In 2000 Dollar General opened a new corporate headquarters in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. By the end of 2000 sales at Dollar General exceeded $4 billion. The distribution center in Homerville, Georgia, was closed in April 2000 and operations were moved to a new distribution center in Alachua, Florida.
Cal Jr. retired in 2002 and was succeeded by David Perdue on April 2, 2003.
2003–present
Dollar General entered the grocery market with the establishment of Dollar General Market in 2003. In 2004 Dollar General expanded to low-cost Asian markets by opening a sourcing office in Hong Kong.
On June 21, 2007, CEO David Perdue announced his resignation leaving David Bere as interim CEO. One month later all shares of Dollar General stock were acquired by private equity investors for $22 per share. An investment group consisting of affiliates of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), GS Capital Partners (an affiliate of Goldman Sachs), Citigroup Private Equity and other co-investors completed an acquisition of Dollar General Corporation for $6.9 billion.
As a part of the transition to a privately held company, Dollar General assessed each location at the end of its lease against a model known as "EZ Stores". This assessment included evaluating whether the location had a loading dock, garbage dumpsters, adequate parking, and acceptable profitability. Stores that did not pass this evaluation were relocated or closed. Over 400 stores were closed as part of this initiative.
Dollar General filed on August 20, 2009, for an initial public offering of up to $750 Million turning the company once again into a publicly traded corporation. In 2013 Dollar General started selling cigarettes in response to its competitor Family Dollar selling cigarettes in 2012. Dollar General's 12th distribution center opened on May 31, 2014, in Bethel, Pennsylvania, to serve the northeast and midwest stores. On August 18, 2014, Dollar General lodged a competing bid of $9.7 billion against Dollar Tree for Family Dollar. The bid was rejected on August 20, 2014, by the Family Dollar board, which said it would proceed with the deal with Dollar Tree.
On June 3, 2015, Chief Operating Officer Todd Vasos replaced Rick Dreiling as chief executive. Dreiling remained as senior advisor and chairman until his retirement in January 2016. Dollar General's 13th distribution center opened in San Antonio, Texas, on June 6, 2016, with a local investment of $100 million and the creation of over 500 jobs. In September 2015, the Janesville City Council, in Wisconsin, approved an agreement to bring a Dollar General distribution center to the town. The center created more than 500 jobs in the area and became the 14th Dollar General distribution center.
On September 15, 2016, Dollar General announced plans to hire 10,000 new employees and open 900 new stores in fiscal 2016 and 1,000 in fiscal 2017. Dollar General had operated 13,000 stores as of August 2016. Dollar Express and all of its 323 locations were acquired by Dollar General in April 2017.
In January 2017, Dollar General opened a concept store in Nashville called DGX. The DGX store concept focuses on urban shoppers and is geared toward instant consumption items such as a coffee station and a soda fountain. The following month another DGX store opened in Raleigh, North Carolina, and in September a third DGX opened in Philadelphia. As of May 2020, Dollar General operated 12 DGX locations in nine states
In Jackson, Georgia, Dollar General opened its 15th distribution center in fall 2017 to serve stores in Georgia and the surrounding states. In 2017, Dollar General began construction for its 16th distribution center in Amsterdam, New York. The distribution center was to cost $91 million and was expected to create 400 jobs in Montgomery County, New York. Dollar General planned to open 900 new stores in 2018. The distribution center became fully operation in 2019. Also in 2017, Dollar General acquired stores from Dollar Express, a spinoff from the Family Dollar-Dollar Tree deal, and converted the store.
In September 2019, Dollar General celebrated the grand opening of its 16,000th store in Panama City, Florida, following damage sustained from Hurricane Michael in October 2018. To commemorate the opening, Dollar General presented two $16,000 checks in partnership with Kellogg's to two local elementary schools displaced from the hurricane.
On December 5, 2019, Dollar General announced FY 2020 plans that include the opening of 1,000 new stores, remodeling of 1,500 mature stores and relocation of 80 stores. In February 2020, Dollar General announced plans to create 8,000 net new career opportunities in fiscal year 2020 Dollar General expanded to 46 states in 2020 with the addition of new stores in Wyoming in March and Washington in April.
