Dollar General is keeping up the pace in opening new stores around the U.S.
Goodletsville-based Dollar General has announced plans to continue expanding next year with an additional 625 stores. The discount chain moved into three new states during the third quarter – Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Nevada.
Dollar General has already opened nearly 500 new stores this year, with plans to hit 625 by the end of its 2011 fiscal calendar and now match that growth rate next year.
Even with his company’s nearly 10,000 stores, CEO Rick Dreiling says he see’s room to expand.
“Obviously there is a saturation point, but our work right now tells us there are 8,000 existing opportunities in the states we’re in.”
Dreiling says he states Dollar General has yet to enter could handle another 3,000 discount stores.
While the company expands its footprint, it’s also getting more products from around the globe.
Pickles are now coming from places like India, says Dollar General chief financial officer David Tehle.
“We’re doing aluminum foil out of China, denim shirts out of Kenya and bandanas out of Pakistan. So we continue to expand our foreign sourcing efforts and we see that even getting broader and broader.”
Tehle says every item that can be made cheaper overseas takes cost out of the business. And it’s helped Dollar General beat Wall Street expectations. Profits were up 34 percent in the third quarter.
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