Hey, guess what? Another huge chain is closing down even more stores this year, like every other huge chain. As high prices continue to choke out Americans, stores continue to close.
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Per the Dollar General earnings report released last Wednesday, the giant is closing 96 Dollar General stores they deem aren't performing to the level they'd like. They will also be closing 45 pOpshelf stores.
Despite the closures, six pOpshelf stores will be converted into Dollar General stores, so we'll only have a net loss of 90 locations.
96 stores may not seem like a huge deal considering there are over 20,000 stores nationwide. But it does continue the trend of franchises closing shutters.
The stores for closure were identified after the company "initiated a store portfolio optimization review of its Dollar General and pOpshelf bannered stores."
They considered the "store performance, expected future performance, and operating conditions" of the stores individually, among "other factors."
It is currently unknown which stores will be closed.
Dollar General CEO Aware Of The Struggle of Low-Income Shoppers
Per the Daily Mail, Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos is aware of the struggle the chain's shoppers are going through.
"Many of our customers report they only have enough money for basic essentials, with some noting that they have had to sacrifice even on the necessities," he said.
"What has become apparent as we move into [the first part of 2025] is trade down is back."
The report also doubled down on their plan to open another 575 stores this year despite the closures. Although the company didn't make nearly as much money as last year, it still made a net profit of $191 million.
Let's hope the culling of some stores will allow them to open significantly more. Many Americans depend on their local Dollar General as a cheaper alternative to other stores. Apparently, there is doubt among the experts that this is as bad as it'll get, however.
Truist Securities analyst Scot Ciccarelli commented on the closures. He said, "We believe these closures could just be the beginning of a larger culling process," per the outlet. I suppose we'll have to wait and find out.
