Former Dollarama COO to head 99 Cents Only Stores

CITY OF COMMERCE, Calif. — Stéphane Gonthier, chief operating officer at Dollarama since September 2007, will be leaving the company to become president and CEO of 99 Cents Only Stores, as well as a member of its board.

Gonthier’s appointment is expected to become effective in the next 60 days. Interim CEO Richard Anicetti, a successful food retailing executive, will return to his role solely as a member of the board.

“The growth of 99 Cents Only Stores has been outstanding for the past several quarters and we are excited to bring on Stéphane as our president and CEO to help us capitalize on our recent accomplishments and guide the company toward long-term success as a leader in the extreme-value category,” said David Kaplan, chairman of the board and senior partner of Ares Management LLC.

Gonthier has more than 15 years of experience in value-oriented retail, most recently at Dollarama, a leading dollar store chain that operates more than 800 stores across Canada. Prior to that, he served in various executive positions with Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., a global convenience store chain best known as the operator of the Circle K stores in the United States from 1998 until 2007. His final position at that company was as SVP, Eastern North America, where he was responsible for four divisions consisting of approximately 2,600 convenience stores in Canada and the United States.

"During his six-year tenure, Stéphane has been an important member of the team that has led the growth and success of Dollarama,” said Larry Rossy, chairman and CEO of Dollarama. “We thank him for his tremendous contribution and exceptional leadership and wish him the very best in his new position. Stéphane has helped develop a very strong and talented management team throughout the years, a team that has played an active role in developing our growth strategy and business model, and we will continue to build on this solid foundation."

"My time at Dollarama has been a great experience and I am proud of what we have all accomplished together. The decision to leave was a difficult one but I am confident that Dollarama is well positioned for the future, with the right people and resources in place to continue to deliver on its strategic plan," added Gonthier. "I would like to thank Larry and the board of directors as well as Dollarama's management and employees for an incredible journey."

Gonthier will continue in his role for an interim period to ensure a smooth and orderly transition before moving to the United States with his family. An executive search will begin immediately under the direction of the board of directors of Dollarama. After Gonthier's departure and until a successor is appointed, Rossy will assume the duties and responsibilities of the chief operating officer in collaboration with other members of the senior management team.