Dollar General Announces Supply Chain Growth

Goodlettsville, Tennessee – (May 9, 2023) – Dollar General today announced recent expansions in its global supply chain network including the opening of its first ground-up, dual facility in Blair, Nebraska and two permanent regional distribution hubs in Newnan, Georgia and Fort Worth, Texas.  The Company also announced expansion plans in Jonesville, South Carolina and Amsterdam, New York at existing facilities.
 
“The recent additions to our supply chain network aim to provide greater efficiencies, create additional jobs and drive positive economic impact,” said Tony Zuazo, Dollar General’s executive vice president of global supply chain. “We’re excited to continue growing our distribution center network to further support store growth and to better serve our customers and local communities.”
 
Blair, Nebraska
Dollar General recently opened its Blair, Nebraska distribution center, which is expected to create approximately 400 new careers at full capacity and represents an approximate $140 million investment in Washington County.  As the Company’s first ground-up dual distribution center, Blair combines the efficiencies of traditional and DG Fresh supply chain networks, which is its strategic, multi-phased shift to self-distribution of frozen and refrigerated products.  The DG Fresh network is currently delivering to more than 19,000 stores from 12 facilities.  A formal grand opening celebration is scheduled for summer 2023.
 
Permanent Regional Facilities
The Company recently increased distribution center storage capacity by more than two million square feet through two new permanent regional facilities in Newnan, Georgia and Fort Worth, Texas.  Each facility will employ approximately 200 individuals at full capacity and serve as an intermediary point between import locations and Dollar General’s distribution center network. 
 
Jonesville, South Carolina
The Company announced an approximately $45 million expansion investment its Jonesville, South Carolina distribution center, which first opened in 2005. The 250,000 square foot addition was completed in spring 2023. 
 
Amsterdam, New York
Dollar General plans to build a 170,000 square foot DG Fresh facility to complement the Company’s traditional distribution center that opened in 2019.  The Company currently plans to close on the property by fall 2023 and begin construction in 2024.
 
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Dollar General is also currently under construction on three recently-announced distribution centers in North Little Rock, Arkansas; Aurora, Colorado; and Salem, Oregon.   
Distribution center employment opportunities are online at www.dollargeneral.com/careers. Dollar General provides employees with competitive wages, world-class and award-winning training and development programs and benefits including day-one telemedicine eligibility and Dollar General’s Employee Assistance Foundation, as well as health insurance coverage options, 401K savings and retirement plans, tuition reimbursement, paid parental leave and adoption assistance to eligible employees.
 
Dollar General believes the addition of each distribution center represents positive economic impact in the communities it serves and takes several factors into consideration when choosing distribution centers sites including proximities to DG stores, local business environments and local workforces, among others.
 
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking information, including statements regarding Dollar General’s strategies, plans and intentions, including, but not limited to, statements made within the quotation of Mr. Zuazo. A reader can identify forward-looking statements because they are not limited to historical fact or they use words such as “will,” “believe,” “plan,” “expect,” “aim,” “opportunities,” “scheduled,” or “continue,” and similar expressions that concern Dollar General’s strategy, plans, intentions or beliefs about future occurrences or results, including without limitation statements regarding planned investments and efficiencies, job creation and career opportunities, economic benefits, increased distribution center capacity, and timing (for completion of the Jonesville, South Carolina expansion and closing the purchase of the additional Amsterdam, New York property and related inception of construction).
 
These matters involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual performance of Dollar General to differ materially from that which Dollar General expected. Many of these statements are derived from Dollar General’s operating budgets and forecasts as of the date of this release, which are based on many detailed assumptions that Dollar General believes are reasonable. However, it is very difficult to predict the effect of known factors on Dollar General’s future results, and Dollar General cannot anticipate all factors that could affect future results that may be important to an investor.
 
All forward-looking information should be evaluated in the context of these risks, uncertainties and other factors, including those factors disclosed under “Risk Factors” in Dollar General’s Annual Report on Form 10-K most recently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and any subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to failure to receive all required governmental permits and development approvals, and:
 

• economic factors, including but not limited to employment levels; inflation (and the company’s ability to adjust prices sufficiently to offset the effect); pandemics (such as the COVID-19 pandemic); higher fuel, energy, healthcare and housing costs; higher interest rates, consumer debt levels, and tax rates; lack of available credit; tax law changes that negatively affect credits and refunds; decreases in, or elimination of, government stimulus programs or subsidies such as unemployment and food/nutrition assistance programs; commodity rates; transportation, lease and insurance costs; wage rates (including the heightened possibility of increased federal, state and/or local minimum wage rates); foreign exchange rate fluctuations; events that create barriers to or increase the costs of international trade (including increased import duties or tariffs); and changes in laws and regulations and their effect on, as applicable, customer spending  and disposable income, the company’s ability to execute its strategies and initiatives, the company’s cost of goods sold, the company’s SG&A expenses (including real estate costs), and the company’s sales and profitability;
• failure to achieve or sustain the company’s strategies, initiatives and investments, including those relating to merchandising (including non-consumable initiatives), real estate and new store development, international expansion, store formats and concepts, digital, marketing, health services, shrink, damages, sourcing, private brand, inventory management, supply chain, private fleet, store operations, expense reduction, technology, pOpshelf, Fast Track, and DG Media Network;
• competitive pressures and changes in the competitive environment and the geographic and product markets where the company operates, including, but not limited to, pricing, promotional activity, expanded availability of mobile, web-based and other digital technologies, and alliances or other business combinations;
• failure to timely and cost-effectively execute the company’s real estate projects or to anticipate or successfully address the challenges imposed by the company’s expansion, including into new countries or domestic markets, states, or urban or suburban areas;
• levels of inventory shrinkage and damages;
• failure to successfully manage inventory balances, issues related to supply chain disruptions, seasonal buying pattern disruptions, and distribution network capacity;
• failure to maintain the security of the company’s business, customer, employee or vendor information or to comply with privacy laws, or the company or one of its vendors falling victim to a cyberattack (which risk is heightened as a result of political uncertainty involving China and the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine) that prevents the company from operating all or a portion of its business;
• damage or interruption to the company’s information systems as a result of external factors, staffing shortages or challenges in maintaining or updating the company’s existing technology or developing or implementing new technology;
• a significant disruption to the company’s distribution network, the capacity of the company’s distribution centers or the timely receipt of inventory, or delays in constructing, opening or staffing new distribution centers (including temperature-controlled distribution centers);
• risks and challenges associated with sourcing merchandise from suppliers, including, but not limited to, those related to international trade (for example, political uncertainty involving China and disruptive political events such as the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine);
• natural disasters, unusual or extreme weather conditions (whether or not caused by climate change), pandemic outbreaks or other health crises (for example, the COVID-19 pandemic), political or civil unrest, acts of war, violence or terrorism, and disruptive global political events (for example, political uncertainty involving China and the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine);
• product liability, product recall or other product safety or labeling claims;
• incurrence of material uninsured losses, excessive insurance costs or accident costs;
• failure to attract, develop and retain qualified employees while controlling labor costs (including the heightened possibility of increased federal, state and/or local minimum wage rates/salary levels) and other labor issues, including employee safety issues and employee expectations and productivity;
• loss of key personnel or inability to hire additional qualified personnel or inability to enforce non-compete agreements that we have in place with management personnel;
• risks associated with the Company’s private brands, including, but not limited to, the company’s level of success in improving their gross profit rate at expected levels;
• seasonality of the company’s business;
• failure to protect the company’s reputation;
• the impact of changes in or noncompliance with governmental regulations and requirements (including, but not limited to, those dealing with the sale of products, including without limitation, product and food safety, marketing, labeling or pricing; information security and privacy; labor and employment; employee wages and benefits (including the heightened possibility of increased federal, state and/or local minimum wage rates/salary levels); health and safety; imports and customs; bribery; climate change; and environmental compliance, as well as tax laws (including those related to the federal, state or foreign corporate tax rate), the interpretation of existing tax laws, or the company’s failure to sustain its reporting positions negatively affecting the company’s tax rate and developments in or outcomes of private actions, class actions, derivative actions, multi-district litigation, arbitrations, administrative proceedings, regulatory actions or other litigation or of inquiries from federal, state and local agencies, regulatory authorities, attorneys general, committees, subcommittees and members of the U.S. Congress, and other local, state, federal and international governmental authorities;
• new accounting guidance or changes in the interpretation or application of existing guidance;
• deterioration in market conditions, including market disruptions, limited liquidity and interest rate increases, or changes in the company’s credit profile;
• the factors disclosed under “Risk Factors” in the company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q; and
• such other factors as may be discussed or identified in this press release.

 
All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by these and other cautionary statements that Dollar General makes from time to time in its SEC filings and public communications. Dollar General cannot assure the reader that it will realize the results or developments Dollar General anticipates or, even if substantially realized, that they will result in the consequences or affect Dollar General or its operations in the way Dollar General expects. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made. Dollar General undertakes no obligation, and specifically disclaims any duty, to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or circumstances, or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements included herein or that may be made elsewhere from time to time by, or on behalf of, Dollar General.