GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — Todd Vasos took over as chief executive officer at Dollar General Corp. on June 3, succeeding Rick Dreiling. Dreiling, 61, will remain as chairman of the board through January 29, 2016, and will serve as a senior adviser until that date.
Todd Vasos took over as chief executive officer at Dollar General Corp. on June 3, succeeding Rick Dreiling. Dreiling, 61, will remain as chairman of the board through January 29, 2016, and will serve as a senior adviser until that date.
Vasos, 53, had been operations chief at Dollar General since 2013. He joined the company in 2008 as executive vice president, division president and chief merchandising officer. He previously held executive positions at Longs Drug Stores, Phar-Mor Inc. and Eckerd Corp.
"The board and I are confident that Todd is the right leader for the future growth of Dollar General," Dreiling said. "Todd is a highly accomplished retail executive with whom I have had the pleasure of working for nine of the last 12 years, including more than six years at Dollar General. I look forward to supporting him in his new role to ensure a smooth and seamless transition."
"I am excited and honored to have the privilege to lead Dollar General," Vasos said. "I am grateful to Rick for his guidance as a mentor and friend. Under Rick’s leadership, we have delivered exceptional results. My commitment is to build on that success. I believe Dollar General has an exciting future ahead and look forward to continuing to work with our talented employees to provide our customers with the everyday-low prices that they count on from Dollar General."
Mike Calbert, Dollar General’s lead director, welcomed the promotion of Vasos. "On behalf of the entire board of directors, we are excited to have Todd Vasos as our CEO and look forward to working with him in his new role. Todd is a proven leader and the right person to guide Dollar General as it enters this next chapter in the company’s history. With Todd’s appointment as CEO and Rick’s continued service, we ensure the continuation of both the leadership and strategy that have made Dollar General a retail powerhouse."
Dollar General expanded rapidly under Dreiling, who became CEO in January 2008. Store count increased by more than 40% during his tenure.
Dollar General opened its 12,000th store on May 30, in Juliette, Ga. Dollar General, which bills itself as the retailer with the most locations in America, operates stores in 43 states after recent expansion of its footprint into three new states — Oregon, Maine and Rhode Island. About 70% of the stores are in towns with fewer than 20,000 residents. The company typically targets low- and middle-income shoppers, many of whom live on fixed incomes. Dollar General’s no-frills stores typically measure about 7,200 square feet, and many are located in towns bypassed by larger retailers.
Stores typically offer 10,000 branded and private label products, from household items to health and beauty aids and from apparel to food.
The majority of products are priced below $10, and about 25% of its merchandise is priced at $1 or less.
Dreiling announced his plans to retire more than a year ago. He later said he had decided to stay to oversee Dollar General’s bid to acquire Family Dollar Stores Inc. That bid was rebuffed by Family Dollar shareholders, who voted in January to accept a buyout offer from Dollar Tree Inc.
Dollar General this month reported its 29th consecutive quarter in which customer traffic and average transaction increased. Sales grew by 8.8% to $4.9 billion in the company’s first quarter.
"For 2015, we are forecasting a year of strong growth, including a total sales increase of 8% to 9%, same-store sales growth of 3% to 3.5% and earnings per share growth of 10% to 13% over 2014 adjusted EPS," Dreiling said in reporting financial results for Dollar General’s 2014 full year.
"Given our strong return profile for new stores, we plan to accelerate our new store openings to approximately 7% square footage growth in 2016."
Dollar General plans to open 730 new stores this year.
Before joining Dollar General, Dreiling had been CEO at Duane Reade Inc., chief operating officer and executive vice president at Longs Drug Stores, and executive vice president for marketing, manufacturing and distribution at Safeway Inc.
Dreiling earned an undergraduate degree in 1975 from Rockhurst University in Kansas City.
