After A Cautious Start, Dollar General Poised To Invade Cities With Its DGX Concept

As a budget chain, Dollar General has had its best success in rural and suburban markets, but now the chain is looking to make deeper inroads into cities, even into gentrifying urban cores better known for hipster boutiques. The chain has rolled out a new concept to do so: DGX.

So far there are only three DGX stores nationwide, compared with about 15,000 standard locations. But Dollar General Corp. CEO Todd Vasos wants to open another 13,000 stores in the coming years. 

Vasos believes a good many of that total will be in dense urban areas, targeting millennials who are looking for affordable retail instead of hipster boutiques, Bloomberg reports.

According to Dollar General, the stores will measure about 3,400 SF, or less than half the size of a standard store, which is 7,300 SF. DGX will offer items geared toward immediate consumption, such as a soda fountain, a coffee station and grab-and-go sandwiches. 

There will also be a limited assortment of grocery offerings, pet supplies, candies and snacks, paper products, home cleaning supplies, and health and beauty products.

How will DGX be different from an ordinary convenience store? Dollar General says the stores will feature items not typically found in quick-trip stores, such as a variety of home, electronics and seasonal offerings. 

The stores will include a checkout lane geared toward high-volume and smaller basket sizes, with the goal of providing quick checkouts for customers.

The first DGX store opened in Nashville, which is near Dollar General's HQ in the suburbs of that city. A second is in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the most recent in Philadelphia’s Northern Liberties neighborhood, which is popular with millennials. 

So far, the company hasn't announced a timetable for the expansion of the DGX brand, nor was it mentioned during the most recent company earnings call in August. In 2017, the company opened more than 1,300 standard locations.