Dollar General to make entry into Montana

Dollar General is poised to have its brick-and-mortar footprint span the contiguous United States.

Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based Dollar General said Tuesday that it plans to open its first store in Montana this fall, which will expand the deep discount retailer to its 48th state, covering the continental U.S.

Currently, two Montana stores are under construction, in Columbia Falls (Flathead County) and Eureka (Lincoln County), both in the northwestern part of the state toward the Idaho panhandle. The retailer said the stores are expected to employ six to 10 people, depending on the needs of each location.

Dollar General added that it will look at other areas in Montana for potential new stores.

“Breaking ground on each new Dollar General is meaningful, as it signifies upcoming affordable access to quality goods to customers, new jobs and career growth opportunities to employees, grant availability to local organizations improving residents’ education through the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and tax revenue for municipalities,” Steve Deckard, executive vice president of growth and emerging markets at Dollar General, said in a statement. “Announcing plans for Montana has an extra element of excitement at Dollar General because our expansion in the Treasure State will complete our presence throughout the lower 48. We look forward to celebrating our first Montana grand opening in the coming months and to serve new customers, employees and communities soon.”

Dollar General noted that its expansion to Montana comes after its first international store opening in Mexico and furthers its fiscal 2023 real estate plans.

The first Mexico location, the Mi Super Dollar General store in Escobedo, Nuevo Leon, opened in March. Dollar General has told analysts that it plans to 20 stores in “underserved communities” in northern Mexico by the close of this year.

During the fiscal 2023 first quarter ended May 5, Dollar General opened 212 new stores, remodeled 582 stores and relocated 22 stores. The company also gave an update on its real estate pipeline, which now is slated to total 3,110 projects in the U.S., including 990 new store openings, 2,000 remodels and 120 store relocations. That compared with the previous 3,170 real estate projects, which had included 60 more new-store openings.

Through the end of the first quarter, Dollar General operated 19,294 stores under the Dollar General, DG Market, DGX and pOpshelf banners across the United States and the Mi Súper Dollar General banner in Mexico.