Posted by 
DOLLAR General has announced plans to open 725 new locations during 2025 – despite confirming plans to shut 141.
The US retailer plans to have hundreds of more stores open by the end of the year, per TMJ4 News.
Dollar General has announced plans to open 725 new locations during 2025 – despite confirming plans to shut 141[/caption]
As the retail sector struggles under the mounting weight of economic pressure and changing consumer habits, Dollar General has reported mixed messages.
Dollar General announced on Tuesday that it will open hundreds of new stores throughout the US.
This will see Dollar General ending 2025 with about 600 more locations than it had at the start of the year.
However, at the same time as the sweep of planned openings, the chain also plans to close 141 stores, as reported by The US Sun.
This will comprise of 96 Dollar General stores and 45 Popshelf stores.
Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s chief executive officer, said: “As we look to build on the substantial progress we made on our Back to Basics work in fiscal 2024, we believe this review was appropriate to further strengthen the foundation of our business.
“While the number of closings represents less than one percent of our overall store base, we believe this decision better positions us to serve our customers and communities.
“Given the already stressed financial condition of our core customer, we are closely monitoring these and any other potential economic headwinds, including any changes to government entitlement programs.
“Importantly, we remain focused on doing everything we can to deliver the value our customers want and need.”
Dollar General’s wholly unique retail position is reflected in its economic figures, which show both good and bad signs.
Dollar General reported shaky numbers in its 2024 Q4 earnings call, but also some postive notes.
Its net income falling 52.4% to $191.2 million.
Net sales for the year rose 5% to $40.6 billion, and net income fell 32.3% to $1.1 billion.
The full-year same-store sales rose 1.4% year over year.
The company aims to increase net sales from 3.4% to 4.4%, and that same-store sales will rise from 1.2% to 2.2%.
POPSHELF PROBLEMS
While Dollar General is reporting strong growth plans, Popshelf’s much smaller footprint will be significantly decreased by the closures.
Popshelf’s shutdowns will lose 22% of its retail footprint with the 45 closures.
Popshelf was first launched as a more premium concept by Dollar General in late 2020, and the company has noted that it’s still confident about the brand’s future.
Dollar General is aiming to boost Popshelf’s sales with a brand partnership and an improved experience in-store.
Other changes are coming in the form of a new distribution center that will streamline the order process.
The company also plans to enhance its own in-store experience by refining operations and reducing inventory and SKUs, according to Vasos.
US braces for '45,000 store closures'
Some 45,000 bricks-and-mortar stores could close in the next five years, experts have warned.
Several major retailers have announced store closures or gone out of business altogether in recent years.
In 2023, chains such as Foot Locker announced plans to close up to 400 outlets by 2026.
While, other well-known retailers like Tuesday Morning and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams filed for bankruptcy in 2023.
Bed Bath & Beyond has closed all of its brick-and-mortar stores and is now an online-only retailer.
The most affected retailers have been clothing, consumer electronics, sporting goods, hobby, book, music, and home furnishing stores since the start of 2019.
UBS has predicted the total number of retail stores will drop by 45k from 958k to 913k.
Despite that, the report says that certain stores should thrive while others decline.
It said retailers such as Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, and Target, could be among the winners.
The ambitious plan hasn’t come without rivalry, however, as Amazon’s delivery services expanded into Dollar General’s locations.
This ultimately reduced the need for Dollar General’s cheap services in those specific places.
But once again, in the face of adversity, Dollar General is planning its next move.
Dollar General is teaming up with DoorDash to provide delivery from over 16,000 of its stores.
A pilot program has already been launched for same-day delivery in 400 stores, and plans are in place to increase this to 10,000, Vasos confirmed.
In total, the chain expects to have nearly 26,000 locations opened by the end of the year.
The closure will comprise of 96 Dollar General stores and 45 Popshelf stores[/caption]
