Coming soon to Rockford Street at the space once occupied by Dollar General will be a new entry from the same parent company, Popshelf (labeled as pOpshelf), which is currently under renovation for an opening soon.
A familiar face on the retail landscape of Surry County, Dollar General has been on a path of growth and expansion for several years and Popshelf is the company’s new concept model.
Dollar General announced plans in August to complete an aggressive round of new store openings and remodels of existing locations. They invested in their stores to the tune of $518 million in just the second quarter of this year alone.
Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s CEO, said of the launch of the new Popshelf concept highlights the company’s “innovative spirit and builds on a proven track record of store format innovation.”
“I walked in there and went, ‘Wow, like, this is something special,’” Scott Mushkin, CEO of R5 Capital, said in an interview. “The only other one that made such a significant impression on me was Five Below back in 2005.”
What will set Popshelf apart from the plethora of existing Dollar Generals will be its design and pricing model. According to their parent company, the new Popshelf “aims to engage customers with a fun, affordable and stress-free shopping experience where they can find on-trend seasonal and home décor, health and beauty must-haves, home cleaning supplies, party goods, entertaining needs, and more — with approximately 95% of items priced at $5 or less.”
Gone will be the bright yellow signage and feel of the shopping experience customers are used to. What remains will be a variety of items at affordable prices. “At Popshelf, customers will find a differentiated retail concept that seeks to bring joy to their shopping experiences, with surprising deals,” said Emily Taylor, Dollar General’s executive vice president and chief merchandising officer.
The new concept will be focused on delivering a combination of continually refreshed merchandise, seasonal specials and limited-time items. Popshelf is seeking to grow beyond the general fare offered at its traditional stores. The goal is to sell on trend brands and products, creating a treasure hunt experience inside the stores.
Popshelf will also carry a curated crossover assortment of Dollar General’s established private brands, so customers will still be able to find the private label items they are used to.
Dollar General opened eight Popshelf outlets in their first six months, which are about 9,000 square feet each, and the performance of those stores “far exceeded our expectations,” said Jeff Owen, COO, Dollar General. Early successes have led to an accelerated deployment of the new concept.
There are 30 locations in operation across five states, and each location employs on average of 15 employees. Job listings for the new Mount Airy store began appearing in mid-October, and a check of the Popshelf website shows all full and part time positions are now accepting applications.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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