Dollar General 2007 Annual Report Download - page 11

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Our recent store growth is summarized in the following table:
Year
Stores at
Beginning
of Year
Stores
Opened
Stores
Closed
Net
Store
Increase/(Decrease)
Stores at
End of Year
2005 7,320 734 125(a) 609 7,929
2006 7,929 537 237(b) 300 8,229
2007 8,229 365 400(b) (35) 8,194
(a) Includes 41 stores closed as a result of hurricane damage.
(b) Includes 128 stores in 2006 and 275 stores in 2007 closed as a result of certain recent strategic initiatives.
Employees
As of February 29, 2008, we employed approximately 71,500 full-time and part-time
employees, including divisional and regional managers, district managers, store managers, and
DC and administrative personnel. Management believes our relationship with our employees is
generally good, and we currently are not a party to any collective bargaining agreements.
Competition
We operate in the discount retail merchandise business, which is highly competitive with
respect to price, store location, merchandise quality, assortment and presentation, in-stock
consistency, and customer service. We compete with discount stores and with many other
retailers, including mass merchandise, grocery, drug, convenience, variety and other specialty
stores. These other retail companies operate stores in many of the areas where we operate and
many of them engage in extensive advertising and marketing efforts. Our direct competitors in
the dollar store retail category include Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Fred’ s, 99 Cents Only and
various local, independent operators. Competitors from other retail categories include Wal-Mart
Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Target and Costco, among others. Certain of our competitors have
greater financial, distribution, marketing and other resources than we do.
The dollar store category differentiates itself from other forms of retailing by offering
consistently low prices in a convenient, small-store format. We believe that our prices are
competitive due in part to our low cost operating structure and the relatively limited assortment
of products offered. Historically, we have minimized labor by offering fewer price points and a
reliance on simple merchandise presentation. We maintain strong purchasing power due to our
leadership position in the dollar store retail category and our focused assortment of merchandise.
Trademarks
Through our subsidiary, Dollar General Merchandising, Inc., we own marks that are
registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, including the trademarks Dollar
General®, Dollar General Market®, Clover Valley®, American Value®, DG Guarantee® and
the Dollar General price point designs, along with certain other trademarks. We attempt to obtain
registration of our trademarks whenever practicable and to pursue vigorously any infringement
of those marks. Our trademark registrations have various expiration dates; however, assuming
that the trademark registrations are properly renewed, they have a perpetual duration.