Under Todd Vasos, Dollar General Looks To Be The No. 1 Deep Discount Retailer

Under CEO Todd Vasos, Dollar General is on a roll to be the No. 1 deep discount retailer.

Last month, the Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based company opened its 15,000th store — days after chief competitor Dollar Tree announced its 15,000th store opening, according to Retail Leader. Dollar General is trying to get a leg up by opening roughly 900 new stores this year, and the latest one in Wilmington, N.C. was accompanied by the announcement that the compay would donate $15,000 to five local schools to support literacy and education initiatives.

Upon the store’s grand opening, Vasos said that Dollar General has become one of the fastest growing retailers in the U.S. since its “humble beginnings” in Kentucky 80 nearly years ago, createing “tens of thousands of jobs” in 44 states.

“As we have grown, we have remained committed to our mission of ‘Serving Others’ by delivering value and convenience to our customers in each of the communities we serve,” he added. “I am grateful for the efforts of more than 130,000 employees who work hard every day to help meet the needs of our customers.”

Vasos in March said the company is committed to being “priced right” for its customer every day, and remains well positioned against all classes of trade and across all geographic regions in which it operates.

“We believe our everyday low price has contributed to our share gains,” he said. “It’s always competitive in discount retail, and we continue to see rational pricing activity across the industry. As we continue to execute against our operating priorities, we believe we have the opportunities to continue to capture market share.”

Vasos has served as Dollar General’s CEO and a board member since June 2015. He joined the company in December 2008 as executive vice president, division president and chief merchandising officer, and was promoted to chief operating officer in November 2013.

Prior to joining Dollar General, Vasos served in executive positions with Longs Drug Stores Corp. for seven years, including executive vice president and chief operating officer from February 2008 through November 2008, and senior vice president and chief merchandising officer from 2001 through 2008. He also previously served in leadership positions at Phar-Mor Food and Drug Inc. and Eckerd Corp.

He’s No. 138 on Chief Executive and RHR International’s CEO1000 Tracker, a ranking of the top 1,000 public/private companies.

Tod Vasos, CEO, Dollar General

Headquarters: Goodlettsville, TN

Age: 56

Education: Western Carolina University (BA)

First joined company: 2008

Positions prior to being named CEO: COO, Executive VP, CMO

Named CEO: 2015