Dollar General has done well selling consumables in other categories so why not try its hand at beer and wine? How big a competitive threat do you think dollar stores are to other retail outlets that currently sell beer and wine?

When the economy took a downward turn, consumers began shopping in dollar stores in greater numbers than ever before. Now, as the economy begins to improve, many chains are looking to solidify past gains…. Do you see dollar stores continuing to achieve the type of sales and profit growth seen over the past couple of years?

Dollar General, which was bought and taken private by Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts in 2007, is rumored to be looking at going public once again to take advantage of its strong position in the marketplace. What will an IPO mean for Dollar General?

Getting shot by mistake while holding toy guns has been a big issue in New York since 1994 when a 13-year-old boy was shot when a police officer mistook the toy gun he was playing with as the real thing. Are you in agreement with laws that prohibit the sale of toy guns that resemble the real thing?

It’s been seen before. When the economy gets a bit shaky, more consumers turn to dollar stores in search of bargains. According to Nielsen, there are plenty of consumers making their way to dollar stores as the channel is the fastest growing retail format. What do dollar stores need to do to keep customers coming back when good times return?

The Dollar General chain may not be going Hollywood but it is definitely going a bit Madison Avenue with a new in-store television network that will broadcast vendor- and retailer-supplied programming to customers in 500 of the chain’s stores in 13 markets. Dollar General plans to have the in-store network in 4,200 locations by September. How effective do you expect in-store television messages to be in influencing product sales with Dollar General customers?

Richard Dreiling, the new chief executive officer at Dollar General, recently spoke with The Tennessean about the company he joined two months ago and what it will take to drive growth during trying economic times. Do you think that Dollar General and other dollar stores are in a unique position to pick up market share during uncertain economic times such as those being experienced at present?

Shareholders of Dollar General voted to approve an offer by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts’ Buck Acquisition Corp. to take the retail chain private. In a related announcement, David Perdue, chairman and CEO of Dollar General, said he would resign upon completion of the deal. What do you expect the future to hold for Dollar General now that KKR is taking it private?

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) is in the dollar store business. The firm, it was announced yesterday, is the new owner of Dollar General after paying $6.9 billion to take the company private. What explains the high degree of interest that private equity firms have had in recent years when it comes to retailers?

The retailer with the most stores in the U.S. has decided it could use a few less. Dollar General announced yesterday it was closing 400 underperforming locations, stepping up its efforts to upgrade existing stores and adding a new president and chief operating officer to lead the company through it all. Has Dollar General and the dollar store industry reached the point of saturation with the number of stores in operation?

Dollar stores are not bringing in the dollars the way they had been. The high price of fuel and stepped up competition from other channels has put the brakes on same-store sales. Do dollar stores need to wait it out until the economy improves and their business comes back or has a weakness in the dollar store model been exposed that needs correcting right now if the channel wishes to avoid the fate of the old five and dimes?

The families of two former Dollar General store clerks murdered by a co-worker are suing the chain for failing to adequately screen the employee before hiring him. Does Dollar General bear some responsibility for the murders of its employees in this case? What can retailers do to improve their screening process?

Dollar General chief executive officer David Perdue told attendees at Johnson Rice & Company’s Fourth Annual Consumer Conference held in New Orleans yesterday that the retailer’s core low-income customer is having a tough time in the current economic and political environment. Do you believe that consumers at the low, middle or high end of the income ladder have altered their shopping habits in the run up to next week’s vote?

Management at Dollar General doesn’t want to spend much time talking about past mistakes it says it has fixed. It is much more interested in its plans to open new stores, including 20 Dollar General Market format units. Do you expect Dollar General Markets to eventually replace the retailer’s standard store in similar fashion to how Wal-Mart has replaced its discount stores with supercenters?

Dollar General will open two new locations in Louisiana this Saturday, bringing the chain’s total store count to 6,706, reports The Advertiser. What retail format is most vulnerable to dollar store competition? What dollar store retailers impress you, why?

Dollar General announced yesterday it planned to expand its new format test by opening 20 Dollar General Market stores next year. What are your thoughts on Dollar General expanding its Market store format test? How are dollar stores impacting the retail market and what must they do to remain competitive against the likes of discount stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, drugstores, etc.?

Dollar General announced its earnings climbed 41 percent in the most recent quarter versus the same period the last year. Bernard Sands analyst Richard Hastings said , “Consumer acceptance of the dollar format is gaining traction into upper income demographics, opening the way for more store expansions in new locations.” How do you see dollar stores evolving from what they are today?

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then retailers such as Dollar General, Family Dollar and others must feel highly flattered as retailers from A&P to Wal-Mart test dollar store sections within their traditional formats. Does the rush to open dollar store sections amount to an overreaction on the part of retailers seeking to blunt competition?

An article in the Miami Herald asks the question, “What can a buck buy?” As the reporter and numerous consumers have found out, the answer is quite a lot if you’re shopping in one of the dollar stores that are popping up in communities coast-to-coast. Do dollar stores need to make changes to format (store size, etc.) or product offerings to continue growing at their current rate? Where do you see the greatest opportunities for growth?

Sal Carollo, an owner of Dollar General Stores in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, says his stores appeal to a wide range of consumers. “We’ve always had a mix of Neiman Marcus types and lower income shoppers,” he said. Is dollar store growth a function of the weak economy? Will the format continue to prosper when the economy rebounds?

Dollar General is emerging from the shadow of accounting errors, which resulted in a nearly $200 million overstatement of earnings, shareholder lawsuits and an investigation by the SEC, with aggressive initiatives designed to enhance its long-term profitability including an expanded test of perishables. Does the dollar store format and consumers lend itself to food sales?