Dollar General exploring locations for new Weld County store

GREELEY — Weld County could get a new Dollar General Corp. (NYSE: DG) store next year.

The Dollar General is considering options for a new site. The company has applied to the City of Greeley to build on a vacant infill site on 22nd Street about a block east of U.S. Highway 85 Bypass and roughly the same distance from an existing Family Dollar store. The company reports it also is evaluating a potential site in Evans.

According to its application to the city, the company has identified this area of Greeley as a key market for its expansion.

“The vision is to bring retail shopping, jobs and sales tax revenue to the community and

service multiple neighborhoods and residents in the vicinity of the Property,” the application said. The eastern side of I-85 and northern side of Highway 34 is underserved with retail options.

“Bringing such a convenience to residents, especially those facing transportation challenges or residing in areas with limited offerings, could notably enhance their quality of life. Dollar General has identified this pocket of Greeley as a key market in their efforts to expand in Colorado, seeing it as an opportunity to grow not only their brand, but also the City of Greeley.”

In response to questions about a new store in Greeley, Dollar General responded via email: “We are currently in a due diligence phase for a new Dollar General location in Evans, Colorado. This means we are reviewing the opportunity to add a new store in Weld County, but we have not committed to doing so just yet. Based on our current timeline, we anticipate having a final decision by spring 2025.”

Dollar General has planned roughly 730 new stores this year, plus 1,620 remodels and 85 relocations. In its second quarter earnings report, company officials reported they were not satisfied with their results, in which net sales increased 4.2% year over year to $10.2 billion in the most recent period. “Importantly, despite a weaker sales environment for our core customer than we had anticipated, we continue to grow market share in both dollars and units in highly consumable product sales. Same-store sales increased 0.5% during the quarter, which was below our expectations,” CEO Todd Vasos said in the company’s second quarter earnings call.

He said the results showed their typical customers, lower-earning households, were holding back a little more on their spending.

“As customers have felt more pressure on their spending, we have also seen corresponding elevation in the promotional environment beyond what we had anticipated coming into the year,” Vasos said. “Importantly, we continue to feel very good about our everyday low price position relative to competitors and other classes of trade. However, the increased promotional activity has pressured both sales and gross margin, and we anticipate this will likely continue for the duration of the year.”

The company’s chief financial officer and vice president, Kelly Dilts, reported that store growth remains one of the company’s commitments.

“While we’re not satisfied with the financial results for the second quarter, we are pleased with the continued progress in our back-to-basics work, and we believe we’re taking the necessary actions to build on this progress and drive the business forward,” Dilts said in the earnings call. “We remain committed to disciplined expense and capital management as a low-cost operator, with the goal of delivering consistent, strong financial performance while strategically investing for the long term.”

Dollar General recently opened a warehouse in Aurora, which, the company said, “will not only create positive economic impact through new jobs and long-term career opportunities for employees, it will also further support our ability to better serve our stores and customers throughout the western United States.”

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