Dive Brief:
- Dollar General last week announced the appointments of Tom Hutchins and Kevin Pinchon to the positions of senior vice president of technology and senior vice president of distribution, respectively.
- Hutchins took on the role in September, per LinkedIn, and oversees IT business integration and strategy, as well as the IT operations and services teams. Pinchon, whose LinkedIn indicates he started his position in June, is handling distribution center strategy and execution for facilities in Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia, per a press release.
- Hutchins most recently was vice president of technology and strategy at Tractor Supply Company. He previously served in IT roles for both Office Depot and AutoZone. Pinchon was most recently vice president of global supply chain at HD Supply, and has held positions at both Grainger and Target.
Dive Insight:
In addition to Hutchins and Pinchon, Dollar General announced 10 promotions and one other new hire last week, all at the vice president level, across areas including IT, distribution, HR, merchandise and finance. The retailer issues officer announcements biannually or quarterly, per a company spokesperson.
Rod West, executive vice president of global supply chain, said in a statement that the company was “excited” to welcome Pinchon. “His experience leading initiatives to positively impact service, safety and other efforts that yielded savings and efficiencies in his previous role are in line with DG’s back to basics efforts,” West said.
The addition of Hutchins was also lauded by management. “His leadership and knowledge will play a pivotal role in helping DG to continue driving operational excellence, deliver value and ultimately better serve our employees, customers and communities,” Chief Information Officer Carman Wenkoff said in a statement.
The additions at Dollar General come at a time when the retailer is experiencing consumer headwinds and increased competition from other chains aggressively pursuing inflation-weary customers.
“There is no reason the dollar stores can’t succeed, especially a chain like Dollar General which focuses on essentials,” GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders said in an email to sister site Retail Dive. “However, the competitive environment is now tougher as more retailers are focusing on price. The operating environment has also been unfavorable thanks to hefty inflation, and this undermines the low-cost business model.”
Dollar General, which will release third-quarter results on Thursday, is coming off a second quarter that saw operating profits decrease by 20.6% to $550 million on net sales of $10.2 billion (up about 4%) — results similar to the prior quarter. Q1 net sales increased 6% to $9.9 billion while operating profit for that period decreased 26% to $546 million.
Dollar General continues to open new stores. Between Dollar General and its Popshelf division, the chain operated 20,345 stores at the end of Q2. Plans called for the retailer to open 800 new stores in 2024 while Dollar Tree, its main competitor, announced in March it was closing about 1,000 locations.
“Tariffs may also present further headwinds as we move into 2025,” Saunders said. “Basically, this is a difficult period for dollar stores.”
