CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Dollar Tree here said it intends to continue to drive additional traffic this year by installing frozen and refrigerated foods at another 10% of its store base.
Bob Sasser, president and chief executive officer, said the discount chain expanded freezers and coolers to 117 locations during the second quarter, for a total of 1,677 stores or 43% of the chain's total 3,925 locations.
The company plans to roll frozen and refrigerated products out to another 146 stores during the balance of the year, to bring distribution up to 53% of the store base, Sasser said.
“We continue to expand this category because it serves the current needs of our customers and it drives traffic into our stores, with incremental sales across all categories,” he explained. “While adding more stores, we also continue to learn more precisely what our customers need, and we are refining our frozen and refrigerated assortments to provide more value and excitement in our stores.”
Sasser made his remarks in a conference call with analysts to discuss financial results for the second quarter, which ended July 31. For the quarter, net income rose 37.1% to $78 million, while sales increased 12.7% to $1.4 billion and comparable-store sales were up 6.7%. For the half, net income rose 20.7% to $141.6 million, while sales grew 12.7% to $2.7 billion and comps rose 6.6%.