Striving for seamless store execution

Greg Sparks, EVP Store Operations, Dollar General

How does Dollar General maintain a consistent quality presentation and high standards for product display, merchandising execution, customer service and store appearance across thousands of locations throughout the United States?

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It takes close collaboration between the merchants and store operations groups, clear guidance for store managers on executing merchandising programs, and open lines of communication between the store support center and regional, district and store management, said Greg Sparks, EVP store operations.



“With 11,000-plus stores, you have to have a pretty seamless process,” Sparks noted. That’s why “we have a very well organized monthly activity guide from the merchants to every store, where every square foot of the store is mapped out regardless of store size, format size, shelf size, market demographics, etc.”



“It’s pretty seamless for the store managers and their teams to execute ... [with] a lot of clear direction from the merchants,” said Dollar General’s top operations manager. “We try very hard to keep store managers and their teams focused on execution.”



One clear advantage for the huge discount chain is that many of its store support center decision-makers have experience in both merchandising and store operations, Sparks said. “It’s a very collaborative effort, and we understand each other’s perspective,” he added. “The operators let the merchants know what’s working well and what’s not, and vice versa. That’s been very helpful for us.”



Although purchasing and planogramming of store sets is handled by departments at the company headquarters, “we do have some regional plannograms” to accommodate local purchasing patterns and conditions, said the head of store operations. “For example, our beach stores have an extended line of beach products in spring and summer, and we give them more flexibility to work with their local vendors to add more items. So if our store or district managers out in the field identify an opportunity, we have a process where the field can work with the merchants to try something locally.”



Buying, however, is done by groups at the store support center, even for items that may be locally sourced for a single cluster of stores in one geographic area, like a hypothetical special cookie that appeals to Alabama consumers. “If we negotiate that here, we get a much better deal,” Sparks explained.



“We communicate. That’s the real key,” he added.



Extending that collaborative approach is a mock store in the company’s DDC, or Design Development Center, where merchants, store operations managers and even vendors can meet to view actual mock-ups of new planograms and merchandising ideas.



Under Dollar General’s current management structure, two operations executives at the SVP level report to Sparks. Those SVP operations leaders oversee the activities of seven divisional VPs, each of whom is responsible for as many as 1,800 stores. Reporting to the divisional VPs are 69 regional store directors, each in charge of 10 to 12 districts. Each district manager within those districts oversees a dozen or more Dollar General stores.



Despite the clear command structure, decision-making at store level is a collaborative process and dialogue is encouraged. “On many of our store visits, our operators and merchants visit at the same time,” said Sparks. “We all compare notes when we look at opportunities.”



In addition, executives in operations, merchandising, supply chain management and other disciplines assemble on most Mondays for lengthy meetings to coordinate merchandising/ marketing strategy and store-level execution.