Retail Armageddon’ As Big Names Crumble, Dollar General Looks to Double Its Nearly 18K Locations
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ROGERS COLUMN ‘Tendency to TENNESSEE TITANS boast’ ages well Rookie lineman a moving target Richard Schweid’s new Second-rounder from North Dakota State book on Nashville past fi nds is impressing coaches with versatility. history repeating itself. P21 P3 August 20-26, 2021 Vol. 47 | Issue 34 NASHVILLE EDITION www.TNLedger.com The power of information. LedgerDAVIDSON • WILLIAMSON • RUTHERFORD • CHEATHAM WILSON SUMNER• ROBERTSON • MAURY • DICKSON • MONTGOMERY FORMERLY WESTVIEW SINCE 1978 Thriving during the ‘retail Armageddon’ As big names crumble, Dollar General looks to double its nearly 18K locations Story by Tom Wood begins on page 2 Illustration by Leigh Melton Singleton | shutterstock.com images ern Express, Inc, REALTY CHECK Hampshire Insurance Company, Western Express, Inc, Def Atty(s): John W Barringer, 08/30/2010, 10C3341 October 8 - 14, 2010 Patricia McClarren vs Star Insurance Company, Westwood Church Of Christ, Law & GovernmentPltf(s): James T Collins, Def(s): Star Insurance Company, Westwood Church Of Christ, Def Heartache still PublicAtty(s): David John Deming, 08/30/2010, 10C3343 Pltf(s): James A Richard Dicaire vs Cbs Personnel Holdings Inc, Cbs Personnel Services LLC, Kilgore Group Inc Collectively Staffmark, Staffmark Investment LLC, Records Pltf Atty(s): n/a, Def(s): Cbs Personnel Holdings Inc, Cbs Personnel has grip in boom 08/26/2010, 10C3303 Services LLC, Kilgore Group Inc Collectively Staffmark, Staffmark James T Collins vs Rogers Group Inc, Investment LLC, Def Atty(s): Stephen B Morton, 08/26/2010, Pltf Atty(s): n/a, Def(s): Rogers Group Inc, Def Atty(s): Heather E Hardt, 08/26/2010,inside 10C3308 & online James A Wells vs Jenco Construction Inc, As Nashville home prices Wells, Pltf Atty(s): n/a, Def(s): JencoTNLedger.com Construction Inc,Pltf(s): Def Atty(s): Judy R Lawson, Jennifer S White, 08/25/2010, 10C3282 Jessica Grimwood vs Intrepid USA Healthcare Services, skyrocket, angels among us RealtyPltf(s): JessicaCheck Grimwood,............................................... Pltf Atty(s): n/a, Def(s): Intrepid USA 3 CommunityHealthcare Services, Calendar Def Atty(s): Clifford ............................... Wilson, 08/27/2010, 4 care for those left to survive Judy R Lawson vs Nursing & Oneida, PublicPltf Records Atty(s): David Harold ..................................... Dunaway, Def(s): Nursing & Oneida, 7–11Def Newsmakers ............................................. 18 without a safe haven. Jordan Sanders vs Dillons Welding Inc and Employers, P3 Public NoticesPltf(s): Jordan Sanders,and Pltf Atty(s): Donald D Zuccarello, Def(s): Foreclosures ..........................12–17, 24–37 Nashville’s Room in the Inn campus Marketplace ..............................................39 Page 2 www.TNLedger.com AUGUST 20 – 26, 2021 Dollar General knows its market Photograph courtesy of Dollar General By Tom Wood segments of the population are growing and others are shrinking.” on’t blink! You might miss the grand DG officials are tight-lipped about the company’s Top 10 opening of another Dollar General store. growth, communicating through quarterly fiscal As of Aug. 8, 2021, Dollar General had 17,671 OK, that’s an exaggeration. But not by reports or press releases, but Goldsmith and stores in 46 states. In fiscal 2020, the much. University of Tennessee Haslam College of Business company’s net sales were approximately D In the 14 years since an investment group professors Don Bruce and Paul Dittman shared their $33 billion. purchased the family owned business and insights into Dollar General’s past, present and future States with the most Dollar General stores took it public again two years later, the Goodlettsville- growth. (as of February, 2021) based chain has added nearly 10,000 stores to boast Bruce says “convenience really matters” in Dollar 1. Texas 1626 more retail locations than any other company in the General’s selection of locations, and that has become United States – quickly closing on 18,000 stores in even more obvious in the pandemic era of increased 2. Georgia 963 46 states. online shopping. 3. Florida 940 And Dollar General’s aggressive expansion plan “People will not go out of their way to get 4. North Carolina 916 shows no signs of slowing. The company plans to something in-person if they can get it quickly online. 5. Ohio 903 double the number of locations, which mostly dot the That certainly took over in 2020,” says Bruce, the highways and byways of rural America. associate director of UT’s Boyd Center for Business 6. Tennessee 856 Not even the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, which & Economic Research. “And what I see happening 7. Alabama 829 negatively impacted much of the U.S. economy, with Dollar General – and I see it happening even in 8. Pennsylvania 826 could impede the company’s growth. Nearly 500 my neighborhood – is that they are very well aware of 9. Michigan 612 stores have been added since the end of fiscal 2020, that. with more on the way every day. “What we have to think about with Dollar 10. Illinois 610 “Dollar General has lots of smart people that are General is they’re seeing what happened and they’re Source: Statista Research Department making their forecasting decisions and are thinking filling an obvious niche. They’re filling a gap in the about the market sizing and the rationale behind marketplace,” Bruce adds. The Ledger the expansion,” says Kelly Goldsmith, a professor of “They find a stretch of highway with nothing else each other – within two years – that just happened marketing at Vanderbilt University. around and they make sure they’re on the commuting to be on different sides of a rural highway. People are “I don’t think they would be making these route for a lot of people who live around that area that interested in convenience, but they’re not going types of decisions if they didn’t have good insight who are going to pass by their store every single day. to cross flow of traffic to get into the other one. into demographic trends. So, you know, different “I’ve seen them build two stores within 2 miles of DOLLAR GENERAL >> PAGE 19 I don’t think [Dollar General] would be making these types of decisions if they didn’t have good insight into demographic trends.” “ Kelly Goldsmith, Vanderbilt University AUGUST 20 – 26, 2021 www.TNLedger.com Page 3 From humble beginnings ‘Tendency to Boast?’ Us? Kind souls provide for those Schweid’s latest with no place to call home a good look at In spite of all the Article 25 contends that states must take homes sales being action to ensure that all citizens enjoy an Nashville’s past logged in and around adequate standard of living and defines in the Greater those standards as food, clothing, housing, It’s not true that the first thing I did Nashville area, health care and social services. after buying the new Nashville history homelessness remains Strobel says his work is strategic in book was to flip through looking for RICHARD COURTNEY a major concern for transitioning the homeless population the picture I took that appears in it. REALTY the city. Homeless from an emergency state to an That is, it’s not entirely true* CHECK advocate and Room environment in which they maintain the The book is “Nashville: Music in the Inn founder conditions set forth in Article 25, but that JOE ROGERS and Manners,” by Richard Schweid, Charles Strobel recently noted that they develop into a third realm. a former colleague of mine at The Ledger MY TAKE homelessness is increasing even as the city In that world, they would be afforded Tennessean. I’d previously read books flourishes. access to education, medical attention, by Richard on Tabasco, the catfish industry in Mississippi The Room in the Inn program has psychological care, employment, housing, The power of and the antique car culture in Cuba. blossomed into the Campus of Human family and religion. He says they would information. Even at that I’m a slacker. He’s written lots of others, development during its 35 years of have the “hope of reversing their fortunes with topics including homelessness, immortality and Published weekly by existence. Founded in December 1986, of life and move into a direction that Westview Newspaper, LLC cockroaches. How’s that for range? He’s entertaining and the program has more than 200 faith- is beneficial to them and the entire informative, with the kind of style that might be described based congregations with 7,000-plus community.” 222 Second Ave. N. Suite 101 as conversational, but that’s too facile. Conversations are Nashville, TN 37201 volunteers who shelter over 1,500 men Butch Spyridon, the president and (615) 254-5522 rarely as agreeably structured as Richard’s prose. and women each year Nov. 1-March 31. CEO of the Nashville Convention FAX: (615) 254-5525 He’s also well-suited for this particular topic. A The program’s roots date back to and Visitors Bureau, says “We are Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m Nashville native and Hillsboro High graduate who now 1977 when Strobel provided peanut concerned about homelessness as both a lives in Barcelona and Rhode Island, he brings to the table President & Chairman butter sandwiches to several homeless humanitarian and economic issues. It is a Peter Schutt his own experience during some of Nashville’s turning- people gathered in the parking lot of the significant issue.” Publisher & CEO point years. Holy Name Catholic Church, where he While the homeless community Eric Barnes In one section, he recounts having watched a “stand-in” Associate Publisher served as pastor. At the time, there were grows, groups assisting those in need & Executive Editor at the Paramount Theater on Church Street in 1960 as members of the homeless community are coming onto the scene.