The Dollar General Informal Analytical Report Professor XXX DeVry University June 1, 2014

999 West Big Beaver Road
Troy, Michigan (USA) 48084 kfirst@kellyservices.com Dollar General is widely regarded as one of the chief discount vendors in the United States. Based in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, it has over 11,000 stores across 40 states, serving to customers with the idea of making shopping easier, and convenient, by carefully sorting out the goods, and selling them at spectacularly low prices, the store’s growth rate saw a decline Because the targeted audience of Dollar General looks for buying everyday household good at the lowest prices, they are suspended to growing more in periods of recessions. Such stores find themselves under pressure at times because they cannot increase the prices of their goods even when the costs of operations are on the rise. By analyzing the average earnings of household in the West of the country, as well as Upper-Midwest, there is room for growth courtesy of new stores. Opening of their stores in California could well be stressful for them, as the market is challenging, and there is little room for newcomers, unless they come up with impressive deals. On the other hand, their plan of having a merger with their rivals Family Dollar is on the cards, though it is hard to figure out the impact it would have on the two parties/the newly formed company. Also, Dollar General does not cater all departments like several other retailers across the country do; for instance, there is no segment for clothing, and similar items. Also, not much has been spoken about the personnel at Dollar General, as it is usually done for the staff working at their retails stores. Recommendations: * Effective personnel in the stores to guide the customers, who could be persuasive, are likely to encourage customers into buying goods. * Project managers and planners from Kelly Services are almost certain to draw strategy to attract customers. * Putting the staff from Kelly’s to effective use, the Dollar General could benefit by not flooding the industry too much and by seize the returns. * Making use of Kelly’s staff, the newly formed company after the merger could be helped to settle in quickly. * Putting up discounts and encouraging the people to shop more in holidays is likely to add to the growth. * With their new stores in California, emphasis has to be laid on offering more-for-less, considering the attitudes and approaches of consumers. * Trained, reliable personnel coming in from Kelly Service is bound to help improve the services at the stores, add to the sales, and would lower shrink. * With planners coming in from Kelly’s, it is almost certain that they would want to control the flow of money through the stores; having a predefined financial plan, maintaining cash flows, and keeping a check on the stocks would definitely lead to lesser expenses. * Loyal customers ought to be treated in all the very best ways. Starting loyalty points or loyalty cards may help them get a better grip of the consumer marker, as it would encourage customers to keep coming back to their stores. * New product lines could be added to help add to the growth of the stores. * Start offering refunds on goods; this would serve as an incentive for the customers. However, if pleased, they could well turn into loyal customers. * Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas, Easter, etc. if the prices go as low as they could, Dollar General could see queues of customers trying to rush into the stores to get their hands on goods.

References Business Services. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.kellyservices.us/us/ushome/
Welcome to the dollar general newsroom!. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://newscenter.dollargeneral.com/company facts/ Kelly Services delivers strategic staffing solutions. (2013). Caribbean Business, 41(7), 36. Dollar General: The Rebirth of a Growth Retailer. (2010). Black Book - Dollar General: The Rebirth of a Growth Retailer, 1-89.