In an era when e-commerce is growing and chains like Kohl’s, Macy’s and Staples are closing stores, Dollar General is expanding. At it’s annual investor day last Thursday, the discount chain announced it will open 900 new stores this year and plans to open another 1,000 in 2017. Adding 1,900 new stores will bring Dollar General’s store count to over 14,000.
Last year was Dollar General’s 26th straight year of same-store sales growth and they have added new stores consistently for the past 8 years, growing from 8,362 locations is 2008 to nearly 12,500 by the end of 2015.
In the late 2000’s, as the economy rebounded from the recession, deep discount retailers like Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar exploded in popularity as consumers sought discounted items at no-frills stores located close to home so they could save on gas. Consumer’s frugal spending habits have continued and Dollar General is targeting annual sales growth of 7% to 10%.