Dollar General CEO: We are seeing some of our best sales of private brands in several years

During a conference call to discuss Dollar General’s third-quarter earnings, CEO Todd Vasos talked extensively about the retailer’s private brands.

“We know that private brands represent an opportunity to further enhance our value proposition for customers, while also benefiting gross margin,” he said. “We are executing a variety of tactics to drive additional growth of these brands, including enhancing our current offerings, as well as introducing new product lines.”

One key area of focus is accelerating growth within Dollar General’s existing private brand portfolio, Vasos added.

“Our plans consist of rebranding and repositioning these products to drive greater customer penetration,” he said. “We have seen great success with our efforts today, including Studio Selection (Dollar General’s line of of hair, skin and beauty products) and Gentle Steps (baby products), and believe there is significant opportunity with other existing brands as well.”

For the third quarter, Dollar General reported net sales of $7 billion, an increase of 8.9% from the 2018 quarter. Same-store sales were up 4.6%.

“The quarter was highlighted by our best customer traffic and same-store sales increases in nearly five years,” Vasos said. "We continue to execute well on many fronts, while maintaining our focus on delivering value and convenience for our customers. As a result of our performance through the first three quarters of 2019 and outlook for the fourth quarter, we are raising our full-year financial guidance as we work to finish a strong year.”

Moving forward, Vasos touted the retailer’s private brands as a sales driver.

“We are constantly evaluating our private brand portfolio and will look to further enhance our offering when and where we see opportunities,” he said. “Importantly, we are seeing some of our best private brand sales performance in several years, which reinforces our belief that we are on the right track to deliver even greater value to our customers, while continuing to drive profitable sales growth.”

For 2019, Vasos said Dollar General remains on track to open 975 new stores, remodel 1,000 stores and relocate 100 stores.

Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based Dollar General operates 16,094 stores in 44 states.