OUR HISTORY

THE VALUE OF A DOLLAR

People have always been drawn to Dollar General for its values – and not just the ones they see on the shelves. Dollar General is a place that meets the needs of hardworking people on a deeper level, with a simple mission: Serving Others. Dollar General has never lost focus of supporting communities across the country, and our memorable mission is illustrated in these communities each day.

DG has grown from a single store to one of the country’s fastest growing small-box discount retailers. A passionate commitment to serving our customers, employees and communities is the foundation of our growth.

FOUNDING FAMILY

THE TURNERS

“It’s not a family business anymore, but our business is a family.” – Cal Turner, Jr.

The character of Dollar General bears a striking resemblance to the character of its founding family – the Turners.

A functionally illiterate Tennessee farmer, J.L. Turner was respected for his capacity for hard work and for his uncommon degree of common sense when it came to business. Cal Turner, Sr. complemented his father’s innate business savvy with a daring sense of buying and an honest sense of partnership. The third Turner generation, Cal Jr. and Steve, broadened the base established by grandfather and father by further valuing the prospect of employees more fully serving customers’ needs.

Today, even though Dollar General is no longer a family business, we think of our business as a growing family of employees, customers and shareholders.

When they picked J.L. Turner to run their co-op store, the farmers of Macon County, Tennessee understood that he knew nothing about the retail business. They chose him because everyone knew he was the hardest working farmer. As it turned out, J.L. had insight into what customers wanted and needed. To us, those simple qualities of hard work and customer focus are still the best qualifications for a job at Dollar General. “He was convinced that everyone he met was smarter than he, and that he needed to learn something from each of them. He became a first-rate observer, a great listener, and a dedicated student of life. What he practiced was more than empathy. It involved valuing the other person and his or her information, insight and perspective.” - Cal Turner, Jr. on J.L. Turner

As a young clerk, Cal put every silver dollar that came across the counter into a cigar box. He was intrigued by the coin’s size and weight. It made him think about the value of a dollar. Some folks teased that Cal still had the first dollar he ever earned. Cal understood the rural customer because he was that customer. He knew and appreciated the value of a dollar just like his customers, and that customers wanted products that were not only a value, but quality, too. This led to a tactic that is still carried out today - a carefully curated selection of merchandise. “We have to be better merchants to operate in this niche. We have to ‘cream the lines’ we carry to have the greatest possible offering in a small store. We have to make every item count.”

As a boy, Cal Jr. worked in the warehouse, sweeping the floors and helping managers load merchandise into their car trunks and back seats. Clerking in the dry goods store, he watched farmers agonize over even small purchases. From Kentucky farmers he learned the value of a hard-earned dollar to folks with all too few of them. “My father believed anyone would do well to be brought up in a small town, and I am grateful for my upbringing in Scottsville, Kentucky.” Cal, Jr.’s father taught him to understand the business from the perspective of “struggling, hardworking customers.” “I’m convinced our small-town roots and continued presence in Scottsville helped us to be in touch with our customers.”

1939 | J.L. TURNER AND SON WAREHOUSE

After his father died unexpectedly, J.L. Turner quit school in the fourth grade to help his family. From then on, he assumed everyone else knew more and he became a keen student of other people. Cal Sr. once said he and his dad never had an original retailing idea. They just worked hard to make sure that others’ good ideas were effectively put into practice.

Luther and Cal Turner, Sr. each invested $5,000 and bought this building for half price in 1939 when they started J.L. Turner and Son Wholesale Company, a dry-goods business to serve retailers who had survived the depression. The building later became the home of one of the most successful retail companies ever – Dollar General Corporation.

1945 | THE TURNERS BEGIN SERVING CUSTOMERS DIRECTLY THROUGH JUNIOR DEPARTMENT STORES

"My father's greatest pride in Luther Turner was this illustration of him as a true marketer. Luther Turner understood the farmer. He understood that the farmer got one check a year at the sale of his tobacco in a cold barn. He gave them one half a pair of gloves saying, 'Get the mate to me free at Turner's Bargain Store. We will gladly cash your check.' That's good marketing. And daddy was proud of Papa."

- Cal Turner, Jr.

EVERY DAY IS DOLLAR DAY

1955 | FIRST DOLLAR GENERAL OPENS

Cal Turner, Sr. became intrigued by the “Dollar Days” sales big department stores in Nashville and Louisville would tout with big, full-color newspaper ads. He reasoned that if they could afford to make that advertising spend each month, it must be paying off. His idea? To open a store with only one price-point - $1. In 1955, Turner’s Department Store in Springfield, Kentucky is converted into the first Dollar General.

Instant Advertising: Just Add Merchandise

The greatest advantage of Dollar General in the marketplace is the insight of our customers and living our mission of Serving Others each day.

Dollar General’s business model has always been customer centric – that we are here to provide community support and serve the customer, giving them the opportunity for a better life by making shopping simple and affordable and by providing meaningful careers.

“How well you live your life is largely determined by your attitude toward other people. If you truly care about them, you can mature beyond selfishness and really make your mark where it counts.”

– Cal Turner, Jr.

Cal Turner, Sr. helping a customer into their car.

“Do what you love then you won’t dread coming to work on Monday.”

Cal Turner, Sr. picks a weed in front of Scottsville, KY's Dollar General store.

"Never forget: It's not our customers' job to work to save money. It's our job to work to save them money." - Cal Turner, Sr.

DESERVING, SALT OF THE EARTH CUSTOMERS

“We’ve always lived in small towns, always done business in small towns, and we’re their kind of people. Small town people work harder for their money and often have less of it to spend, so they’re more careful and practical about how they spend it. They judge quality by the garment, not the label, and they know a work shirt with a thread pattern flaw will last just as long as first line merchandise even if it only costs half as much. We’re country folks and we intend to stay that way, even though we think we’re doing a big-city job of merchandising.”

– Early Dollar General Annual Report

COMPANY MILESTONES

1968 | DOLLAR GENERAL BECOMES A PUBLIC COMPANY

When Dollar General debuted on Wall Street for $16.50 a share, the company didn’t waver from its small-town approach to keeping things simple. The Securities and Exchange Commission first refused the company’s check because Marguerite McClelland, of the Farmer’s National Bank in Scottsville, Kentucky had marked it “GOOD” instead of “certified.” But Marguerite knew the word Farmer’s National used simply made more sense. “Wasn’t it just like lawyers,” she said, “to require a $10 word when a $1 word was just fine.” As Marguerite explained, “We’re right and everyone else is wrong.”

“To serve better than anyone else does our customer’s need for quality basic merchandise at everyday low prices” - DG’s First Mission Statement

DOLLAR GENERAL'S MILESTONE STORES

We are part of the fabric of small-town America. When a Dollar General opens, it often brings out the whole town. In fact, in 2004, former President Jimmy Carter helped welcome DG to his hometown of Plains, GA.

Approximately 80%* of Dollar General stores are located in communities of 20,000 or fewer people, many of which other retailers either cannot, or have chosen not to serve. (*as of FY 2023)

“Since our humble beginnings in Scottsville, Kentucky almost 80 years ago, we have become one of the fastest growing retailers in the U.S., created tens of thousands of jobs and grown into a trusted partner for countless communities.” – Todd Vasos, Dollar General CEO

Map of Dollar General Locations through the years

DG'S SUPPLY CHAIN

DISTRIBUTION CENTERS

Every day, Dollar General's supply chain team oversees thousands of moving pieces with delicate precision to manage an international global supply chain program to support our stores across the country and Mexico. Our distribution centers play a critical role and enable us to efficiently serve our stores, with strategic placement of facilities. See where we have created economic empowerment opportunities for the local workforce and communities while also positioning our transportation team for more efficient hauls and reduced stem miles:

SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES WE CALL HOME

“Furthering one’s education can improve lives for generations to come.” – Cal Turner, Jr.

1979 | DOLLY PARTON VISITS SCOTTSVILLE ON THE COMPANY’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY
Dollar General Literacy Foundation has provided support to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which provides free books to children from birth through age 5, since 1995.

1987 | DOLLAR GENERAL LAUNCHES GED / LEARN TO READ PROGRAM
Dollar General’s co-founder, J.L. Turner, was functionally illiterate with a third-grade education. In his honor, Dollar General created a free referral program to help individuals learn to read or prepare for their high school equivalency test. Referral brochures are located at the cash registers in all stores.

1988 | PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN HONORS DOLLAR GENERAL FOR ITS LITERACY PROGRAMS
The White House presents the Presidential Award for Private Sector Initiatives to Dollar General in recognition of changing the lives of those affected by illiteracy.

1993 | THE DOLLAR GENERAL LITERACY FOUNDATION IS ESTABLISHED
Founded on the belief that literacy opens doors for personal, professional and economic growth, Dollar General created an official grant foundation. Visit DGLiteracy.org for more information.

2006 | DGLF LAUNCHES BEYOND WORDS GRANT PROGRAM
In the wake of tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, floods and more, the Beyond Words disaster relief program has helped public school libraries rebuild, reestablish and/or expand library resources and programs through financial support.

2013 | INCEPTION OF READING REVOLUTION PROGRAM
Dollar General begins surprising schools across the country through a new Reading Revolution program, which provides corporate funding to be used at administrators’ discretion to purchase books, technology programs, computers and/or education supplies or resources.

2020 | DGLF PRESENTS SAVE THE CHILDREN WITH $2M TO SUPPORT KIDS ACROSS RURAL AMERICA DURING COVID-19
The gift helps ensure children continue to learn and have access to nutritious foods during nationwide school closures.

2020 | DG AND DGLF ANNOUNCE $5M TO SUPPORT RACIAL JUSTICE AND EDUCATION
Reflecting DG’s commitment of putting words into action, the Company announced funding to organizations that work to accelerate racial equity.

2021 | DG ANNOUNCES BOOK DONATION PARTNERSHIP WITH KELLOGGS
With each new Dollar General store opening, DG and the Kellogg Company donate 100 books to a local school as an investment in communities’ literacy and education programs. The first year alone of the partnership school libraries and students across the country received more than 100,000 books.

2022 | DGLF MAKES NEARLY $5M INVESTMENT IN LITERACY SOLUTIONS
DGLF released a new State of American Literacy Report, underscoring the significant impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on literacy learning for both adults and youth K-12. In response to the findings, a commitment of approximately $5M in grants was announced to five national organizations working to address critical literacy needs.

2023 | DGLF MAKES HISTORIC GRANT ANNOUNCEMENT TO SUPPORT LITERACY AND EDUCATION
DGLF announced the organization’s largest one-day grant donation in its 30-year history with more than $13M awarded to literacy and education programs.

2023 | DGLF PRESENTS $1M DONATION TO DOLLY PARTON’S IMAGINATION LIBRARY
“Dollar General has been a longtime supporter of our work with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and this amazing gift will help us expand my Imagination Library to even more children and families. We share such similar personal stories that are at the heart of our passion for inspiring a love of reading, and I look forward to many more years of partnering on this work that means so much to us.”

– Dolly Parton

LIVING OUR MISSION OF SERVING OTHERS

We open our doors every day with a commitment to service in mind, whether it's providing our customers with an affordable, convenient place to shop, supporting our employees through career growth opportunities or donating to our hometown communities through the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, Feeding America, the American Red Cross and other nonprofit organizations.

2001 | DOLLAR GENERAL’S MISSION OF SERVING OTHERS TAKES ON SPECIAL MEANING DURING THE HOLIDAYS
DG launches Santa’s Workshop at our corporate office and distribution centers, partners with the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program through in-store collections and supports the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program to help make holidays a little merrier for thousands of families.

2006 | BEGINS PARTNERSHIP WITH ST. JUDE CHILDREN’S RESEARCH HOSPITAL
Dollar General’s participation in the annual Thanks and Giving campaign has helped raise millions of dollars to fight childhood cancer.

2021 | DG ANNOUNCED NEW COMMITMENTS TO ADDRESS FOOD INSECURITY
Dollar General launches new operational partnership with Feeding America to enhance rural hunger initiatives and provide more food donations to 95% of member food banks across the country, nearly doubling the number of stores in which Feeding America services. The Company also announced a $1M donation.

2021 | EXTENDS COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP EFFORTS
DG announces a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation, donating $100,000 to support the planting of more than 20,000 trees through reforestation and community tree planting events and supporting the partnership through employee volunteer days.

2021 | JOINS AMERICAN RED CROSS DISASTER RESPONDER PROGRAM
Dollar General announces a $250,000 partnership with the American Red Cross to extend the Company’s disaster relief efforts and support the nonprofit’s Disaster Responder Program. For more than 20 years, DG has contributed to the American Red Cross to support the relief and recovery efforts following hurricanes, tornados, floods, wildfires and other natural disasters. In addition to corporate contributions, the Company has accepted in-store collections to aid and support relief efforts.