Apparently, Dollar General Thinks Better Lighting Can Fix a 42% Stock Free-Fall

Dollar General is rolling out the big guns… and by guns, I mean a $1.4 billion plan armed with sledgehammers, demo-day T-shirts, and a desperate prayer.

After watching its stock free-fall 42% this year, Dollar General (the retailer that seems to build stores wherever a tumbleweed might roll by) has decided it’s makeover time. The mission? Transform their current aesthetic of “dollar store dungeon” into something that might actually make customers want to linger (or at least not flee immediately). 

Somewhere, Chip and Joanna Gaines are probably shaking their heads and saying, “Bless their hearts.” But let’s not kid ourselves. Will slapping on some fresh paint and rearranging shelves really fix Dollar General’s battered reputation (and even more battered stock price)? Or is this just retail’s version of spraying Febreze in a public bathroom (You know the answer.)

First, the receipts. Dollar General’s Q3 earnings report was like showing up to a family Thanksgiving with a Little Caesar’s pizza… Disappointing. Profits came in at $0.89 per share, falling short of Wall Street’s $0.94 expectations. But, in true budget-store fashion, sales delivered, climbing 5% year-over-year to $10.2 billion. Same-store sales even squeaked out a 1.3% rise, which is decent considering hurricanes treated their inventory like a piñata.

CEO Todd Vasos claims he isn’t losing sleep. He pointed to a “Back to Basics” strategy for keeping sales steady, proving that sometimes surviving retail just means… surviving. Hurricanes or not, Dollar General is still the undisputed king of cheap snacks and last-minute household essentials.

Here’s the exciting announcement (drumroll please). The company plans to drop $1.4 billion in 2024 on nearly 4,900 real estate projects, including 575 shiny new stores and thousands of makeovers under its Project Elevate initiative (a name that sounds like it belongs on a church youth group shirt).

CFO Kelly Dilts says the focus is on “mature stores” (translation: “our top locations are embarrassing us”). The idea? Fancy up the shopping experience so customers stick around longer—and spend more. Basically, Dollar General is rebranding itself as “bougie on a budget.”

On top of the renovation plans, Dollar General is finally dipping its toes into e-commerce with same-day delivery at 75 stores, with plans to expand nationwide. For a brand built on grab-and-go convenience, this feels a bit like duct-taping a smartphone onto a flip phone. Can they compete with Walmart and Amazon? Probably not. But at least they’re trying, which is more than you can say for some of their competition.

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Stock.News has positions in Dollar General, Walmart and Amazon mentioned in article.