$DG

The article says New Orleans had 11 Dollar General stores at the start of 2024, but after abrupt closures in June only one location at 4774 Paris Ave. in Fillmore remained open, according to local residents, employees and city officials. Dollar General said it closed three stores after a performance review and paid impacted employees. Employees report sudden job losses and customers cite theft concerns.

Investing.com previews the Q2 earnings period, noting stocks are little changed after a record high. Key reports include NVIDIA (NVDA) Aug 26 with $91.9B revenue and $2.08 EPS, Walmart (WMT) Aug 20 with $186.8B sales, plus Salesforce (CRM), CrowdStrike (CRWD), and retailers Home Depot (HD), Target (TGT), Lowe’s (LOW), TJX (TJX).

Dollar General opened applications for its annual Call for Small Businesses, inviting U.S. vendors not selling to the retailer in the past 18 months to apply through Aug. 17. Selected firms will meet with merchandising teams this fall. Dollar General operates 21,000+ stores and plans about 450 new U.S. locations in fiscal 2026. It reported Q1 net sales of $10.8B and operating profit up 10.8%.

Dollar General said it expanded its Value Valley program by adding new $1 private-label items and a frozen section with a full door dedicated to $1 frozen products, according to company remarks. It also highlighted broader private-brand investment to attract and retain shoppers. The article cites FMI data that 92% of US households have store-brand products.

An investigation by Consumers' Checkbook and others alleges retailers use deceptive pricing by inflating “original” prices to create fake discounts. A Macy’s shirt example showed a listed 40% discount that would imply a higher sale price than expected. The group tracked 25 retailers over six months, citing Gap, JCPenney, Bass Pro Shop, Wayfair, and Dick’s. Macy’s and others denied wrongdoing; FTC enforcement is limited, while states have pursued cases including a $5M Walmart settlement.

ON.energy says its patented medium-voltage AI UPS, validated to ERCOT Large Load Interconnection requirements including NOGRR 282 and LVRT, isolates data centres from grid voltage faults while smoothing GPU load swings. It claims up to eight hours of backup for 3.5MW units. ON also partnered with Shoals on DC recombiner integration. Skeleton Technologies and DG Matrix plan to integrate Skeleton ESS into DG Matrix’s Interport SST platform for 800 VDC data centres.

Reuters reports U.S. shoppers are increasingly “trading down” to private-label groceries as inflation stays high and value-focused buying spreads across income groups. NielsenIQ says value retailers’ sales rose 11.6% year-on-year in Jan-May vs 2.3% for conventional. Walmart is expanding “bettergoods” toward nearly 1,000 items; Aldi plans 180 more U.S. stores in 2024.

Dollar General said it is using back-to-school promotions to attract value-focused shoppers, offering more than 70 items priced at $1 or less, plus same-day delivery, according to Vice President Steve O'Brien. The article cites National Retail Federation data showing back-to-school spending fell from $41.5B in 2023 to $38.8B in 2024, and $39.4B in 2025.

Jefferies analyst Scott Marks says USDA’s FY2025 SNAP payment error-rate data (10.62% nationally, ~10B in improper payments) and falling SNAP participation could pressure food retailers exposed to SNAP. Marks cites states above a 6% threshold facing cost-sharing starting Oct. 2027. He flags retailers including Dollar General, Dollar Tree, 7-Eleven and Walmart.

Dollar General said more than 2,000 items are now priced at or below its $1.00 benchmark, according to the company, as part of efforts to address inflation. The article cites Statista data on the chain’s 20,000+ U.S. stores. On an earnings call, executives pointed to consumer pressure from higher fuel costs and inflation (4.2%).