The nation’s largest discount retailer continued to expand in Vermont in 2013.
According to the company's latest annual report, Dollar General opened three new stores in Vermont last year. The Tennessee-based chain says it now has 20 Vermont stores. In 2007, the company had just one outlet in the state.
Unlike much larger discount box stores like Wal-Mart, Dollar General’s business model enables it to place its smaller stores in many rural locations. The company says 70 percent of the 11,215 Dollar General locations in 40 states are in communities with populations of fewer than 20,000.
While the term ‘dollar store’ is a misnomer, most Dollar General items are priced at less than $10.
There are indications Dollar General’s expansion in Vermont will continue. According to the annual report, “The results of our initial review affirm our confidence in our ability to continue to expand our store base at the current pace for the foreseeable future. In 2014, we plan to open 700 new stores [nationally].”
A Dollar General spokesman told VPR last fall, “We’ve been very well received in the markets that we’re operating in in Vermont. Our stores do quite well.”
Dollar General’s expansion has not occurred without resistance in some Vermont communities, most notably in Chester where there has been a long court battle.
Dollar General is the most established of the smaller retail discount stores with outlets in Vermont.
Dollar Tree and Family Dollar compete for the same market, but Dollar General also sees stores like Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid as competitors. Of those only Rite Aid, with more than 30 Vermont stores, rivals Dollar General’s presence in the state.
Dollar General will likely have more competition in the future. In response to the popularity of the ‘dollar store’ model, Wal-Mart is expanding its line of smaller stores and supermarket-sized Neighborhood Market outlets.
In some Vermont communities there are concerns that Dollar General's expansion threatens local general stores that carry many of the same items.
