Dollar General Corporation had begun its journey as a family-owned business in 1939. Today, it has become one of the largest chains of variety stores in the USA.
Its headquarters are located in Goodlettsville, Tennessee and it is currently operating over 18,200 stores across the USA.
James Luther Turner and Cal Turner had established this company as Turner and Son in Scottville. They changed the company’s name to Dollar General Corporation in 1955. It went public in 1968. It was one of the Fortune 500 companies in 1999 and jumped to 112th rank in 2020.
This company’s revenue crossed $27 billion in 2019. Thus, it became one of the most profit-making stores that operate in the rural regions of the USA.
Why Dollar General Stores are So Successful?
Today’s business owners focus more on gaining online attention than valuing customers’ demands. Dollar General is competing with the world’s leading e-commerce platforms in their territories. It is opening hundreds of new stores and flourishing without any issues.
Why this company is not affected by the growing trend of online shopping. Why do buyers prefer Dollar General stores over other variety stores? The reason is simple, this company offers affordable products and makes shopping quite convenient for clients.
People choose Dollar General’s “treasure hunt” shopping experience over the somewhat frustrating online shopping experience. It promotes local brands and frequently brings cost-effective deals.
Common citizens choose pocket-friendly shopping and instant delivery of products over flashy items. That’s why Dollar General has retained its loyal customers for the past 82 years.
Who are Dollar General’s Competitors?
Dollar General Corporation competes with all the big and small stores selling general merchandise, including automotive parts, apparel, hardware, dry goods, toys, home furnishing, and other items.
An average Dollar General store is spread over 7,400 square feet of area. Each store offers an assortment of products people need in their daily life.
It promotes affordable shopping and therefore it has become a favorite shopping destination of American people.
Top 10 Dollar General Competitors and Alternatives
1. Walmart
Walmart is a USA-based multinational retail corporation that runs discount department stores, hypermarkets, and grocery stores. Sam Walton had established this company in 1962 in Arkansas. Today, it has more than 10,500 stores located across 24 countries.
Many Walmart subsidiaries run spacious variety stores across the globe. The Fortune Global 500 has recognized Walmart as the world’s largest company.
It has grossed over $548.743 billion by 2020 and it is also the world’s largest private employer. This company has offered employment to 2.2 million people across the globe!
The Walton family controls this company, but it is a publically traded company. The family owns 50% of the company’s shares and the rest shares belong to other investors. It is currently the USA’s largest grocery retailer and performing much better than its competitors.
Walmart is also a dominant player in the e-commerce sector. It is competing with Amazon and other major competitors in the industry.
Both Dollar General and Walmart are popular offline shopping destinations and compete to be the market leader.
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2. Family Dollar
Operating stores across 8,000 locations, Family Dollar is a prominent variety store chain in the USA. It used to be the 2nd largest company of its kind in the USA before Dollar Tree acquired it in 2015. It was sold for $8.5 billion when shareholders approved the bid made by Dollar Tree!
It was a profit-making company before its activist investor Carl Icahn put pressure for selling it. Its 400 stores were closed in 2019. The company started its business again with a new store format “H2”.
Family Dollar is now welcoming customers to new locations. It is selling Dollar Tree merchandise along with groceries. Family Dollar has also reached smaller markets to entertain buyers from small towns. It is a popular brand in the USA and it can soon emerge as a tough competitor to Dollar General.
3. Target Corporation
This American big-box department store chain is the 8th largest retailer in the USA. This company was founded in 1902 and it was named Goodfellow Dry Goods at that time.
Target’s first discount store was opened in 1962 in Roseville, Minnesota. Its expansion began in the 1980s and Target had become a popular shopping destination by the 90s.
Target has competed with major department store chains and thrived as a major competitor. Its reputation was destroyed due to a data breach and unsuccessful venture in Canada. It survived that blow and re-established itself as a reliable shopping destination.
Modern Target stores are pretty bright and colorful. Wider aisles and perfectly organized merchandise help this company allure more buyers.
Most people have a pleasant shopping experience and they admire the cost-effective deals. Target has successfully established itself as a cheap-chic player to compete with today’s famous shopping platforms.
4. Dollar Tree
Running over 15,115 stores across 48 states in the USA and Canada, Dollar Tree is a multi-price-point variety store chain. Being a Fortune 500 company, it has established 24 distribution centers to offer faster delivery of goods. It also operates many stores under the Dollar Bills name to entertain clients seeking the most affordable deals.
This company promotes and sells various goods produced by regional, national, and private-label companies. Each store offers food, snacks, beauty, health, home décor, home appliances, furnishing, automotive, and various other products. Dollar Tree stores are a one-stop destination for buying all household items.
This company has made over $23.611 billion in revenue by 2020 and its sales increased by 3.1% in 2021. Well-organized stores, amazing discount deals, and presence across major North American cities make Dollar Tree an exciting shopping destination.
5. 99 Cents Only Stores
This company is popularly known as The 99 Store because it used to sell all products at 99¢ or less. This American price-point retailer chain provides general merchandise, closeout branded products, and fresh foods.
99 Cents Only Stores has improved its product line and added many expensive products to its aisles. It never disappointed buyers looking for the cheapest deals. That’s why it still draws buyers wherever it opens a new store.
Retailers across the USA and 15 other countries rely on this company for wholesale purchase of goods. Its Bargain Wholesale business generates considerable profit and helps this firm compete with major wholesalers, such as Alibaba and Amazon.
When it comes to competing with Dollar General and other variety stores in the USA, The 99 Store operates around 400 stores. It employs over 17,000 professionals to help customers find and buy affordable products.
6. Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational company that runs big-box retail stores. Being the 5gh largest retailer in the world, Costco has established 828 warehouses across the globe. It is the largest retailer of organic foods, choice and prime beef, wine, and rotisserie chicken.
Costco’s warehouses are located in the USA, Japan, Canada, UK, Mexico, Taiwan, Spain, South Korea, Iceland, Australia, and China. It is also planning to open new locations in Sweden and New Zealand. It means, Costco will not only compete with American companies but also with other variety store chains in various countries.
Costco has established warehouse clubs across the globe. However, most of this company’s revenue comes from American stores. It is a members-only store, but membership fees do not generate huge revenue for this company.
Costco makes a profit when sales are high and competitors like Dollar General can easily affect this company’s sales figures!
7. Ross Stores
Commonly known as Ross Dresses for Less, Ross Stores, Inc. is an American department store chain. This company has more than 1,483 stores and it operates as the largest off-price retailer in the country.
Morris Ross had opened the first store of the chain in 1982. It has delivered products from top-rated specialty and department store brands. Customers praise this company for offering amazing discount deals and extraordinary bargains.
Ross Stores is not as big as Dollar General, but this company has a significant presence in 40 states of the country. That’s why it is one of Dollar General’s major competitors.
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8. Five Below
David Schlessinger and Tom Vellios founded the Five Below specialty department store chain on 4th October 2002. Today, this company provides a wide range of products that cost less than $5. It also has a selection of products costing between $6 and $25.
Customers come to Five Below for an affordable shopping experience. This department store chain never disappoints its customers. This company has established more than 1,100 stores in 40 states of the USA. Most of those stores were closed during the pandemic, but all stores are open now.
This company creates employment for more than 90,000 people. It has two distribution centers and it is expanding quite rapidly. It provides clothing items, kids’ items, games, accessories, home décor products, and other household items.
Five Below is going to open 1,400 more stores in the USA. It can also expand internationally to attract more buyers and compete with the best companies in the market.
9. BJ’s Wholesale Club
BJ’s operates a membership-only wholesale club chain and it has 216 stores located across 17 states in the USA. Zayre department store chain founded the BJ’s Wholesale Club in 1984.
Mervyn Weich became the chairman of the newly founded company, which was named after his daughter.
Weich had left the company in 1987, but the company’s name didn’t change. It remained the same and gained popularity as a cost-effective destination for shopping. Customers happily buy the membership because of the benefits.
BJ’s offers special prices on branded products, accepts all the manufacturers’ coupons, and provides many payment methods. All those perks encourage buyers to become a member and get special deals created only for members.
BJ’s has only 216 stores, but it employs over 25,000 professionals. This company has launched Berkley-Jensen and Wellsley Farms brands to sell general merchandise and delicious foods. It has limited stores, but it’s a profitable department store chain competing with Dollar General.
10. Lidl
Lidl is a German discount retailer chain running more than 11,000 stores across the USA and Europe. Schwarz Group owns Lidl and it also operates the Kaufland hypermarket chain. This company follows a no-frills, zero waste, and pass-the-savings-to-customer approach.
It ensures the customer can get the purchased products directly from the carton. Suppose there is no product in the carton, the department store refills it.
Lidl is not among the top variety stores in the USA because it follows a different business model. Unlike its major competitor Aldi, Lidl does not focus on brands. It works to provide better deals and more opportunities to save money.
This company has made over $3.9 billion in the USA in 2020. Its revenue is expected to increase rapidly because it is reaching many new cities.
Dollar General and other variety store chains will face issues with the growing popularity of Lidl in American markets.
