Elgin Area Chamber Of Commerce: Dollar Tree To Add Stores, Private Payrolls Grew In February, Oil Prices Surge

Press release from the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce:

March 03, 2022

Dollar Tree To Add Stores

Dollar Tree, which has more than 16,000 stores, is planning hundreds more in the coming year along with renovations to existing ones.

The Chesapeake, Virginia-based retailer finished 2021 with 536 store openings, 225 of them Family Dollar locations and 311 Dollar Tree stores, according to the company’s latest earnings report for its fiscal year that ended Jan. 29. Family Dollar exceeded the 200 the company had said it planned to open, while Dollar Tree fell short of a goal for 400.

Kevin Wampler, the company’s chief financial officer, told analysts on its earnings call Wednesday that the plan this year is to open 590 stores. Of those, 400 will be Family Dollars and 190 Dollar Trees.

In addition, the company said it is rolling out 1,500 Dollar Tree Plus sections at stores, which adds items priced at $3 to $5 in existing stores, and is renovating 800 Family Dollar stores to its so-called H2 format. Those stores will have additional freezers and coolers as well as better merchandise.

Mike Witynski, Dollar Tree’s CEO, told analysts that the company last week completed its rollout of a new $1.25 price point to more than 7,800 Dollar Tree stores two months ahead of schedule.

For the fiscal year, Dollar Tree reported net sales of $26.3 billion, from $25.5 billion the previous year.

Private Payrolls Grew in February

Private payrolls expanded more than analysts expected in February, while the previous month’s figures were revised to a big gain versus a big loss.

Payroll company ADP reported Wednesday that payrolls grew by 475,000 in February, which would have been a big reversal from its January report of a big loss of 301,000. Instead, February’s number now looks like it was slower growth than the previous month after ADP revised the January figure to a gain of 509,000. Still, February was better than estimates of 375,000 to 400,000.

The revision aligned ADP’s number more closely with the government’s figure of 467,000 jobs in January.

Leisure and hospitality led the increase in February as that sector has done for months now. It had led the since-revised loss in January. But the revision doesn’t break down changes by sectors.

Oil Prices Surge

Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine pushed oil prices to their highest level in eight years on Wednesday, which means more pain at the gas pump for consumers and transportation companies.

West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, closed Wednesday at just above $111 per barrel. Brent crude, the global benchmark, closed at nearly $115 per barrel. On Monday, both were under $100.

Rising oil prices came on another wild day for the U.S. stock market. The major indexes closed higher after going deep in the red on Tuesday.

Prices began soaring with a decision by OPEC and non-OPEC partners, which include Russia, to increase oil production only gradually, adding up to 400,000 barrels a day for April. An announcement by the International Energy Agency to release 60 million barrels of oil globally, half of which comes from the U.S. strategic reserve, didn’t slow the run-up in prices.

Russia is one of the largest oil producers in the world. Ever-tightening sanctions have so far avoided limits on the country’s exports. But some refiners have chosen a path of refusing Russian oil.

Source: www.CoStar.com

This press release was produced by the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.