Dollar General purchases Pikeville Walmart Express
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on July 31, 2016 1:45 AM
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Pictured is the old Walmart Express store in Pikeville, which will be converted into a Dollar General store with gasoline services.
The vacant former Walmart Express store in Pikeville will be converted into a Dollar General store, with gasoline service, by October.
The Dollar General Corp. has announced its purchase of 41 former Walmart Express sites in 11 states. The discount retail chain purchased the largest collection of stores in North Carolina, with Dollar General conversions planned in Snow Hill and Princeton.
"The new stores are all scheduled to open by October, and all current employees will transfer to the new stores once construction is completed," said Crystal Ghassemi, Dollar General spokeswoman for the Goodlettsville, Tenn.-based company.
The stores will include Dollar General's most recent layout plan with additional sales floor space, faster check-out service and new meat and produce sales. Thirty seven of the stores, including the Pikeville location, will put back into service existing gas stations previously operated by Walmart Express.
"Dollar General seeks to provide both value and convenience to our customers, and we're certainly excited to offer Wayne County customers expanded offerings in the Pikeville store, at 303 Goldsboro St., as part of the purchase," Ghassemi said.
"We also plan to operate the fueling stations at the Pikeville location."
Dollar General's operation of gas stations isn't the company's first launch into the fuel market, Ghassemi said.
"We currently have a test fuel project at a location in Hanceville, Alabama," she said.
The company is accepting applications through Dollar General's website, at www.dollargeneral.com/careers, for additional employment opportunities planned at the new stores.
Details regarding which existing Dollar General locations will relocate to the former Walmart Express sites has not been disclosed, Ghassemi said.
Mary Ingram, manager of Pikeville's Dollar General store, at 112 Goldsboro St., learned about the company purchase through media outlets Wednesday evening. Employees and managers have not been notified of the company's plans or the sale, Ingram said.
"Dollar General has not told us anything," Ingram said.
The Walmart Express store in Pikeville has remained vacant most of the year, following a corporate decision in January to close all of the 102 Walmart Express locations. Walmart opened the smaller-box stores in 2011 but decided five years later to shift its focus on existing supercenters and its newer Walmart Neighborhood Market stores.
Prior to the Walmart Express closing in Pikeville, signs were posted in the store directing customers to the nearest Walmart Neighborhood Market.
Dollar General, which has 12,719 stores in 43 states, will expand its presence in the discount retail market with the recent acquisition.
"Dollar General is excited to add these locations to our existing store base," said Todd Vasos, Dollar General chief executive officer. "We look forward to the opportunity to better serve our customers in these communities by continuing to provide the convenience and value they expect from Dollar General."