According to CBS News, Dollar General is the #1 retailer for opening stores in 2019! On September 28, 2019 Dollar General opened store # 16,000 in Panama City, FL! At this year’s Vendor Summit, DG executives announced plans to open 1,000 new stores and remodel 1,500 stores in 2020. Currently under construction are new stores in Washington and Wyoming. When completed, this will expand the Company’s presence to 46 states. Along with store expansion also comes the addition of new Distribution Centers. Their 17th Distribution Center is scheduled to open in Q1, 2020 in Amsterdam, NY, and orders to fill this new Distribution Center are in the pipeline now.
Open Call 2019 excitement with Southern Professional’s own Bert Blackburn and Kevin Leichter, of Premier Paint Roller which is based out of Richmond Hill, NY.
Walmart
In 2013, Walmart announced that they were committed to helping boost job creation and U.S. manufacturing by buying $250 billion in products Made in the USA by 2023. One of the ways that they support this commitment is through their annual Open Call event.
Open Call 2019 was a huge success, with over 100 companies, representing 44 different states, moving on to the next step with product placement. If you have a product Made in the USA and want to be part of Walmart’s 2020 Open Call event, watch for applications to be opened in Spring, 2020 or talk with your Sales Representative. The Jobs in US Manufacturing Portal can be found at https://engage.walmart-jump.com and will provide more Open Call 2020 information.
Fred’s Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
On September 9, 2019, Fred’s, Inc. filed petition in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware seeking relief under chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code, closing its stores and leaving many of our clients with unpaid invoices. The Case # is 19-11984, and the Main Case Docket can be accessed through the website http://www.deb.uscourts.gov. Another good resource for filing claims is the Epiq Global website https://dm.epiq11.com . Here you can find a Proof of Claim form and file a claim from their website. You can also request a claim form from your Sales Team member. Fred’s expects to complete liquidation sales at their retail locations by mid-November.
“Despite our team’s best efforts, we were not able to avoid this outcome,” said CEO Joe Anto. “I want to thank all of our employees for their hard work and continued support of the Company as we wind-down our operations.”
