Dollar General makes another expansion move

Dollar General is taking another step forward in its plans to expand its square footage by 7% in 2016.

The retailer announced it has begun construction on a distribution center in Janesville, Wis.It will be the 14th facility in the retailer’s growing distribution network.

“This state-of-the-art distribution center will help support our growth throughout Wisconsin and the Midwest,” said Todd Vasos, chief executive officer of Dollar General. “I want to thank the City of Janesville, Rock County and the State of Wisconsin for their support of our project. Janesville provides a great location, a strong business environment and a great workforce to draw from to fill the 550 jobs that are anticipated to be created by this new distribution Center.”

At full capacity, the approximately 1 million square-foot Dollar General facility is expected to employ more than 550 people to serve stores in Wisconsin and surrounding states. Assuming no significant construction or other delays, Dollar General plans to begin hiring in late summer 2016 with operations expected to begin in December 2016.

“We are proud that Dollar General selected Wisconsin as the location of its latest distribution center, leveraging our state’s strong economic assets to fulfill its business growth opportunities,” said Mark Hogan, secretary and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. “I am thankful to the many local and regional economic development partners who helped secure this project and the good jobs it will bring to Janesville.”

The new distribution center is expected to service more than 1,000 stores in the Upper Midwest. Dollar General currently has 122 stores in Wisconsin with more than 900 employees. Dollar General’s 13 other distribution centers are located in Alabama, California, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.

As of Oct. 30, Dollar General operated 12,396 stores across the nation.