Family Dollar 2010 Annual Report Download - page 3

Fellow Shareholders,
Being a more compelling place to shop, work and invest is more than just our mission at Family Dollar. It’s the
essence of our business and what drives us to get better everyday. In the tough times we face, with high
unemployment and families struggling to make ends meet, it’s more important than ever that we provide our
customers with compelling value, ensure our Team Members a compelling and rewarding work environment, and
deliver compelling returns for our shareholders.
We’ve accomplished much over the past year to realize our mission. In fiscal 2010, we focused our attention on
serving our customer better and improving her shopping experience. Specifically, we:
• completed our store technology refresh and expanded our store operating hours, providing customers
with a more convenient shopping experience;
• expanded our selection of key traffic-driving consumables, increased our focus on quality, and
incorporated more customer and market data into our merchandising strategies to provide our
customers with even greater value;
• enhanced our assortment of Family Dollar private brand, increasing sales by approximately 19%;
• enhanced our advertising and pricing capabilities to successfully maintain our strong price image with
customers; and
• improved merchandise adjacencies within the store through better inventory management and the
installation of new, more efficient fixtures.
Beyond the customer experience, we also became a more compelling place to work. We strengthened our pay-
for-performance culture and expanded our training and leadership development programs. These initiatives
brought continued improvement in our employee retention rates and internal promotions, delivering more
consistent execution in our stores.
These efforts and the relentless execution of our teams helped deliver strong results for our shareholders. We
were able to achieve:
• a comparable stores sales increase of 4.8%;
• an operating margin expansion of 110 basis points, resulting in another year of double-digit earnings
growth; and
• a return on shareholders’ equity increase of approximately 25%, the strongest level in more than a
decade.
While we are proud of what we’ve accomplished, we believe that additional opportunity exists, and we have
ambitious plans. It’s not enough for us to meet the needs of our customers with great value and convenience. We
want to exceed their expectations as a compelling place to shop. For our Team Members, it’s more than just
providing a job. We want to offer an environment that fosters meaningful career growth. And for our
shareholders, it’s about executing our plans to deliver compelling returns. These ideals reflect more than our
mission. They drive our culture and will help us continue to grow our business now and into the future.
Sincerely,
Howard R. Levine
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer