Dive Brief:

• Discount retailer Dollar General promoted Kelly Dilts, senior vice president of finance, to the role of CFO effective May 1, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• Dilts, a three-year veteran of the company, will take the financial reins from current CFO and President John Garratt, who will retain his role as President before his planned retirement from the company on June 2, Dollar General said in a press release.
• The company’s CFO switch comes as it looks to bump up staffing in a bid to increase its market share as inflationary pressures continue to impact consumer shopping habits.

Dive Insight:

Before joining the Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based retailer in 2019, Dilts served as CFO for boutique clothing retailer Francesca’s for three years beginning in 2016, according to her LinkedIn profile. She also logged an 18-year tenure with fellow clothing retailer Men’s Wearhouse, serving in a variety of positions including as senior vice president, finance and investor relations as well as serving as their senior vice president and chief accounting officer.

Dilts will receive an increase in her base salary from $676,794 to $750,000 in accordance with her appointment as SVP and CFO, according to the company filing. Her bonus opportunity will also increase to 75% of her base salary, and Dilts will also receive a one-time long-term incentive with an approximate value of $878,297 in accordance with her appointment, to be delivered in non-qualified stock options.

Garratt — who has been with Dollar General for nearly 10 years and is a veteran of Yum! Brands — was promoted to the role of CFO and President in September of last year after serving as EVP and CFO for the retailer since December 2015, according to a company filing.

He announced his intent to retire in January, Industry Dive sister publication Retail Dive previously reported.

Dilts’ appointment comes as Dollar General takes steps to entice shoppers away from its competitors, with the retailer planning to spend an additional $100 million in 2023 aimed at increasing market share and helping to drive greater on-shelf availability, CEO Jeff Owen said during the company’s latest earnings call in March. The investment will primarily go towards increasing staffing levels at Dollar General’s stores, Owen said.  

Dollar General reported a 5.7% increase in same-store sales in its fiscal fourth quarter ended Feb. 3 compared with the year-earlier period, while fiscal year same-store sales rose 4.3%. Its sales results for the quarter were “strong, although below our expectations,” Owen said in a statement included in the company’s earnings results.

The retailer expects inflationary pressures to continue to be a headwind for its business, Garratt said on the call — making it all the more critical to capture consumer attention.

Company rival Dollar Tree, now led by former Dollar General executive Richard Dreiling, reported a 7.4% yearly increase in same-store sales for its fiscal fourth quarter, according to its earnings results.

The bump in sales is partially due to higher-income shoppers feeling the bite of higher prices, with Dreiling noting on the company’s March 1 earnings call that “what we are seeing is the consumer making $80,000 a year is trading down.”   

Retail sales for March were down 1% compared to the previous month at $691.7 billion, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, a figure which is up 2.9% from March 2022 sales.

Dollar General ended 2022 with $37.8 billion in sales for the year, with 19,147 stores, according to its proxy statement.