Dollar General is one of the biggest players in the retail market of the USA. It is a discount retail store chain headquartered in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. It is the most popular retail store in the rural USA. In its continuous growth, various competitors are the major challenges. So, who are the major competitors of the Dollar General Variety Store retail chain?
Dollar General has several competitors in the USA. World’s largest departmental store Walmart is its biggest competitor. Discount stores like Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Ross Dress for Less are also some major competitors. Retail chains like Costco, Target, Home Depot also pose major competition for Dollar General.
An Overview
Dollar General ranks at 112 positions on Fortune 500 list. Found in 1939, this store today earns annual revenue of $27.8 billion. It has more than 17,000 outlets in 46 US states. At Dollar General retail outlets you can buy clothes, shoes, home accessories, electronics, cleaning equipment, groceries, etc. However, groceries were added to Dollar General’s merchandise in 2003.
Notably, today Dollar General has around 143,000 working employees.
For future growth, Dollar General has decided to take its business to the international market. Hence it is planning to open its stores in Mexico this year. The biggest competitors in Dollar General’s home and international market are these retail stores-
Dollar General Competitor – Big Players in the Market
Walmart
Walmart is the biggest competitor for any departmental store or retail store in the World. It is the largest departmental store in the World with total revenue of US$559.2 billion. Walmart is a global retail chain that operates with different names in foreign countries.
In the US also, it has a subsidiary – Sam’s Club which is a retail warehouse. Sam’s Club has limited outlets in the USA, but it poses strong competition for Dollar General wherever its stores are.
Walmart operates in more than 10,00 locations in the USA. And it has almost everything that a shopper wants in a market.
Costco
Costco Wholesale Corporation is a major warehouse club in the USA. It’s a membership-based retail chain having more than 800 outlets in the USA. Despite having very few outlets, Costco earns a tremendous revenue of US$166.76 billion.
Costco will also be a major competitor of Dollar General in its international coverage plan. It ranks at 10th position in Fortune’s 500 US corporations. i.e. very ahead of Dollar General.
Target
Target is another major departmental retail chain in the USA. It has around 2,000 outlets in the USA. As of 2021, Target earned net revenue of US$99.6 billion. Target deals in clothes, shoes, electronics, jewelry, food, etc. Its rank is 37th in Fortune’s 500 US corporations.
Target outlets have discount stores and hypermarket stores. Due to cheap pricing in its discount stores, Target is a direct competitor of Dollar General.
Dollar General’s close competitors
Family Dollar
Family Dollar is a retail and discount store like Dollar General. Dollar Tree has acquired Family Dollar in 2015. But still, it operates under its name that is Family Dollar. Family Dollar has more than 8,000 stores in the USA and its net revenue in the year 2020 is US$25.51 billion. In the context of earnings and revenue also, Family Dollar is a very close competitor of Dollar General. Additionally, the pricing, merchandise, and store functioning of Dollar General and Family Dollar are very much similar.
Dollar Tree
Dollar Tree is known for its only $1 pricing for most of the merchandise, the store sold. It is a direct competitor to Dollar General. Dollar Tree has more than 15,000 outlets in the 48 states of the USA, i.e. very close to Dollar General. However, its products are limited compared to Dollar General. The net revenue earned by Dollar Tree in the fiscal year 2021 is US$25.509 billion.
Ross Dress for Less
Ross Dress for Less is the largest discount departmental store in the USA. It has around 1,500 retail stores that operate in 37 US states. It is also a direct competitor of Dollar General. At Ross, most of your essential merchandise is available at off-price. However, its revenue is half that of Dollar General i.e. US$12,5 billion. But it is a major competitor of the retail chain in few merchandises.
Conclusion
Dollar General is not among the most valued departmental stores in the USA, like Walmart and Costco. However, among the discount retail store chains, it has a competitive edge. Dollar General’s major competitors are Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Ross, Walmart’s Sam’s Club, etc.
Does Dollar General’s net sales increase in 2020 than 2019?
Answer: Yes, Dollar General’s net sales have seen a growth of 22% from 2019 to 2020. In 2020 Dollar General’s net sales amounted to US$33.75 billion.
Does Dollar General is better than Family Dollar?
Answer: At least the ranking says that Dollar General is a better retail store chain than Family Dollar. Dollar General’s market cap is $48.43 billion whereas, Family Dollar’s market cap is $25.38 billion.
