Dollar General Q2 gets fresh
Dollar General's second quarter was driven by its new Popshelf concept and its further growth into fresh.
Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s chief executive officer, said that the company is pleased with its second-quarter results, which included the rollout of DG Fresh, the store’s produce addition with own brand product, and the Popshelf “store-within-a-store” installation, a party store concept with private brand items that merged into a single location with DG Market.
“During the quarter, we made significant progress on many key initiatives, including the completion of our initial rollout of DG Fresh and the opening of our first Popshelf store-within-a-store concept,” said Vasos. “In addition, we executed more than 750 real estate projects, including new store openings in our Popshelf concept and larger footprint Dollar General formats. We remain focused on delivering value and convenience for our customers, while driving long-term sustainable growth and value for our shareholders. We feel very good about the underlying strength of the business, and we are excited about our plans for the second half of fiscal 2021.”
Net sales decreased 0.4% to $8.7 billion in the second quarter of 2021 compared to $8.7 billion in the second quarter of 2020. The net sales decrease was primarily driven by a decline in same-store sales, as well as the impact of store closures, partially offset by positive sales contributions from new stores.
Same-store sales decreased 4.7% compared to the second quarter of 2020, driven by a decline in customer traffic, partially offset by an increase in average transaction amount. Same-store sales in the second quarter of 2021 included a decline in each of the consumables, seasonal, apparel and home products categories.
In quarter one of 2021, same-store sales were up over 17% on a two-year stack basis, but decreased 4.6%, year over year, for the first quarter ended April 30. Net sales decreased 0.6% to $8.4 billion.
Operating profit for the second quarter of 2021 decreased 18.5% to $849.6 million compared to $1 billion in the second quarter of 2020. The second quarter of 2020 included approximately $38 million of incremental investments the company made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily driven by $13 million in frontline employee appreciation bonuses, as well as measures taken to further protect the health and safety of employees and customers.
Dollar General, based in Goodlettsville, Tenn., and with more than 17,000 locations, reported net income of $637 million for the second quarter of 2021, a decrease of 19.1% compared to $787.6 million in the second quarter of 2020. Diluted EPS decreased 13.8% to $2.69 for the second quarter of 2021 compared to diluted EPS of $3.12 in the second quarter of 2020.