DOLLAR GENERAL CORP - Annual Report: 2020 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

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FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

☒Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

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For the fiscal year ended January 31, 2020, or

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☐Transition Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

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For the transition period from ________ to ________

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Commission file number: 001-11421

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DOLLAR GENERAL CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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100 MISSION RIDGE

GOODLETTSVILLE, TN 37072

(Address of principal executive offices, zip code)

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Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (615) 855-4000

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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

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Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒   No ☐

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Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐   No ☒

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐   No ☒

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The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock outstanding and held by non-affiliates as of August 2, 2019 was $34.3 billion calculated using the closing market price of the registrant’s common stock as reported on the NYSE on such date ($133.69). For this purpose, directors, executive officers and greater than 10% record shareholders are considered the affiliates of the registrant.

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The registrant had 251,941,312 shares of common stock outstanding as of March 12, 2020.

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DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

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Certain of the information required in Part III of this Form 10-K is incorporated by reference to the registrant’s definitive proxy statement to be filed for the Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on May 27, 2020.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

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General

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This report contains references to years 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015, which represent fiscal years ending or ended January 29, 2021, January 31, 2020, February 1, 2019, February 2, 2018, February 3, 2017, and January 29, 2016, respectively. Our fiscal year ends on the Friday closest to January 31. Our 2016 fiscal year consisted of 53 weeks, while each of the remaining years listed consists of 52 weeks. All of the discussion and analysis in this report should be read with, and is qualified in its entirety by, the Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes.

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Solely for convenience, our trademarks and tradenames may appear in this report without the ® or TM symbol which is not intended to indicate that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the right to these trademarks and tradenames.

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Cautionary Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

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We include “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws throughout this report, particularly under the headings “Business,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and “Note 7 – Commitments and Contingencies,” among others. You can identify these statements because they are not limited to historical fact or they use words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “can,” “would,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “project,” “plan,” “expect,” “estimate,” “goal,” “seek,” “ensure,” “potential,” “opportunity,” “objective,” “intend,” “predict,” “committed,” “likely,” “continue,” “strive,” “aim,” “scheduled,” “focused on,” or “subject to” and similar expressions that concern our strategies, plans, initiatives, intentions or beliefs about future occurrences or results. For example, all statements relating to, among others, our estimated and projected expenditures, cash flows, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity; our plans and objectives for, and expectations regarding, future operations, economic and competitive market conditions, growth or initiatives, including but not limited to the number of planned store openings, remodels and relocations, store formats, progress of merchandising and other initiatives, trends in sales of consumable and non-consumable products, and level of future costs and expenses; potential future stock repurchases and cash dividends; anticipated borrowing under our unsecured revolving credit agreement and commercial paper program; potential impact of legal or regulatory changes and our responses thereto, including the potential impact of tariffs imposed by the U.S. government; potential impact of the COVID-19 outbreak; anticipated impact of new accounting standards; efforts to improve distribution and transportation efficiencies, including self-distribution; efforts to improve our in-stock position, customer convenience proposition and store labor productivity; or expected outcome or effect of pending or threatened legal disputes, litigation or audits are forward-looking statements.

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All forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those which we expected. Many of these statements are derived from our operating budgets and forecasts, which are based on many detailed assumptions that we believe are reasonable. However, it is very difficult to predict the effect of known factors, and we cannot anticipate all factors that could affect future results.

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Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements are disclosed under “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A and elsewhere in this document (including, without limitation, in conjunction with the forward-looking statements themselves and under the heading “Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates”). All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by these and other cautionary statements that we make from time to time in our other SEC filings and public communications. You should evaluate forward-looking statements in the context of these risks and uncertainties and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. These factors may not contain all of the factors that are important to you. We cannot assure you that we will realize the results or developments we expect or anticipate or, even if substantially realized, that they will result in the consequences or affect us or our operations in the way we expect. Forward-looking statements in this report are made only as of the date hereof. We undertake no obligation, and specifically disclaim any duty, to update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

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PART I

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS

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General

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We are among the largest discount retailers in the United States by number of stores, with 16,368 stores located in 45 states as of February 28, 2020, with the greatest concentration of stores in the southern, southwestern, midwestern and eastern United States. We offer a broad selection of merchandise, including consumable items, seasonal items, home products and apparel. Our merchandise includes national brands from leading manufacturers, as well as our own private brand selections with prices at substantial discounts to national brands. We offer our customers these national brand and private brand products at everyday low prices (typically $10 or less) in our convenient small-box locations.

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Our History

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J.L. Turner founded our Company in 1939 as J.L. Turner and Son, Wholesale. We were incorporated as a Kentucky corporation under the name J.L. Turner & Son, Inc. in 1955, when we opened our first Dollar General store. We changed our name to Dollar General Corporation in 1968 and reincorporated in 1998 as a Tennessee corporation. Our common stock was publicly traded from 1968 until July 2007, when we merged with an entity controlled by investment funds affiliated with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., or KKR. In November 2009 our common stock again became publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “DG”, and in December 2013 the entity controlled by investment funds affiliated with KKR sold its remaining shares of our common stock.

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Our Business Model

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Our long history of profitable growth is founded on a commitment to a relatively simple business model: providing a broad base of customers with their basic everyday and household needs, supplemented with a variety of general merchandise items, at everyday low prices in conveniently located, small-box stores. We continually evaluate the needs and demands of our customers and modify our merchandise selections and pricing accordingly, while remaining focused on increasing profitability, cash generation and returns for our shareholders.

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Our long-term operating priorities remain: 1) driving profitable sales growth, 2) capturing growth opportunities, 3) enhancing our position as a low-cost operator, and 4) investing in our people as a competitive advantage. For more information on these operating priorities, see the “Executive Overview” section of Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, included in Part II, Item 7 of this report.

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In 2019, we achieved our 30th consecutive year of positive same-store sales growth. We believe that this growth, which has taken place in a variety of economic conditions, is a result of our compelling value and convenience proposition, although no assurances can be given that we will continue to achieve positive same-store sales growth in any given year.

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Compelling Value and Convenience Proposition. Our ability to deliver highly competitive prices in convenient locations and our easy “in and out” shopping format create a compelling shopping experience that we believe distinguishes us from other discount retailers as well as convenience, drug, grocery, online and mass merchant retailers. Our slogan “Save time. Save money. Every day!” summarizes our appeal to customers. We believe our ability to effectively deliver both value and convenience allows us to succeed in small markets with

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limited shopping alternatives, as well as in larger and more competitive markets. Our value and convenience proposition is evidenced by the following attributes of our business model:

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Substantial Growth Opportunities. We believe we have substantial long-term growth potential in the U.S., and we have identified significant opportunities to add new stores in both existing and new markets. In addition, we have opportunities to relocate or remodel locations within our existing store base to better serve our customers. Our attractive store economics, including a relatively low initial investment and simple, low-cost operating model, have allowed us to grow our store base to current levels and provide us significant opportunities to continue our profitable store growth strategy.

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Our Merchandise

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We offer a focused assortment of everyday necessities, which we believe helps to drive frequent customer visits, and key items in a broad range of general merchandise categories. Our product assortment provides the opportunity for our customers to address most of their basic shopping needs with one trip. We offer a wide selection of nationally advertised brands from leading manufacturers. Additionally, our private brand products offer even greater value with options to purchase both products that are of comparable quality to national brands as well as opening price point items, each at substantial discounts to the national brands.

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Consumables is our largest merchandise category and has continued to become a larger percentage of our total sales as indicated in the table below. Consumables include paper and cleaning products (such as paper towels, bath tissue, paper dinnerware, trash and storage bags, and laundry); packaged food (such as cereals, canned soups and vegetables, condiments, spices, sugar and flour); perishables (such as milk, eggs, bread, refrigerated and frozen food, beer and wine); snacks (such as candy, cookies, crackers, salty snacks and carbonated beverages); health and beauty (such as over-the-counter medicines and personal care products including soap, body wash, shampoo, cosmetics, dental hygiene and foot care products); pet (such as pet supplies and pet food); and tobacco products.

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Seasonal products include holiday items, toys, batteries, small electronics, greeting cards, stationery, prepaid phones and accessories, gardening supplies, hardware, automotive and home office supplies.

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Home products include kitchen supplies, cookware, small appliances, light bulbs, storage containers, frames, candles, craft supplies and kitchen, bed and bath soft goods.

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Apparel includes casual everyday apparel for infants, toddlers, girls, boys, women and men, as well as socks, underwear, disposable diapers, shoes and accessories.

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The percentage of net sales of each of our four categories of merchandise for the fiscal years indicated below was as follows:

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Our seasonal and home products categories typically account for the highest gross profit margins, and the consumables category typically accounts for the lowest gross profit margin.

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The Dollar General Store

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The typical Dollar General store is operated by a store manager, one or more assistant store managers, and three or more sales associates. Our stores generally feature a low-cost, no frills building with limited maintenance capital, low operating costs, and a focused merchandise offering within a broad range of categories, allowing us to deliver low retail prices while generating strong cash flows and capital investment returns. Our stores average approximately 7,400 square feet of selling space, and approximately 75% of our stores are located in towns of 20,000 or fewer people. We generally have had good success in locating suitable store sites in the past, and we believe that there is ample opportunity for new store growth in existing and new markets. In addition, we believe we have significant opportunities available for our relocation and remodel programs.

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Our store growth over the past three years is summarized in the following table:

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Our Customers

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Our customers seek value and convenience. Depending on their financial situation and geographic proximity, customers’ reliance on Dollar General varies from fill-in shopping, to making periodic trips to stock up on household items, to making weekly or more frequent trips to meet most essential needs. We generally locate our stores and plan our merchandise selections to best serve the needs of our core customers, the low and fixed income households often underserved by other retailers, and we are focused on helping them make the most of their spending dollars. At the same time, however, Dollar General shoppers from a wide range of income brackets and life stages appreciate our quality merchandise as well as our attractive value and convenience proposition.

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Our Suppliers

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We purchase merchandise from a wide variety of suppliers and maintain direct buying relationships with many producers of national brand merchandise. Despite our broad offering, we maintain only a limited number of items per category, allowing us to keep our average costs low. Our two largest suppliers each accounted for

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approximately 8% of our purchases in 2019. Our private brands come from a wide variety of suppliers. We directly imported approximately 6% of our purchases at cost in 2019.

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We consistently have been able to obtain sufficient quantities of core merchandise and believe that, if one or more of our current sources of supply became unavailable, we generally would be able to obtain alternative sources; however, such alternative sources could increase our merchandise costs and supply chain lead time and expenses, result in a temporary reduction in store inventory levels, reduce our selection, or reduce the quality of our merchandise, and an inability to obtain alternative sources could adversely affect our sales.

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Distribution and Transportation

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Our stores are currently supported by distribution centers for non-refrigerated merchandise located strategically throughout our geographic footprint. We lease additional temporary warehouse space as necessary to support our distribution needs. In addition to our traditional distribution centers, we now operate multiple temperature-controlled distribution facilities in support of “DG Fresh”, our strategic, multi-phased shift to self-distribution of frozen and refrigerated goods, such as dairy, deli and frozen products. We regularly analyze and rebalance the network to ensure that it remains efficient and provides the service levels our stores require. See “—Properties” below for additional information pertaining to our distribution centers.

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Most of our merchandise flows through our distribution centers and is delivered to our stores by third-party trucking firms, utilizing our trailers. We also own more than 300 semi-trailer trucks with which we transport our merchandise. In addition, vendors or third-party distributors deliver or ship certain food items and other merchandise directly to our stores.

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Seasonality

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Our business is somewhat seasonal. Generally, our most profitable sales mix occurs in the fourth quarter, which includes the Christmas selling season. In addition, our quarterly results can be affected by the timing of certain holidays, new store openings, remodels, relocations and store closings. We typically purchase substantial amounts of inventory and incur higher shipping and payroll costs in the third quarter in anticipation of increased sales activity during the fourth quarter. See Note 12 to the consolidated financial statements for additional information.

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Our Competition

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We operate in the basic discount consumer goods market, which is highly competitive with respect to price, customers, store location, merchandise quality, assortment and presentation, service offerings, in-stock consistency, customer service, promotional activity, employees, and market share. We compete with discount stores and many other retailers, including mass merchandise, warehouse club, grocery, drug, convenience, variety, online, and certain specialty stores. These other retail companies operate stores in many of the areas where we operate, and many of them engage in extensive advertising and marketing efforts. Our direct competitors include Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Big Lots, 99 Cents Only and various local, independent operators, as well as Walmart, Target, Kroger, Aldi, Lidl, Walgreens, CVS, and RiteAid, among others. Certain of our competitors have greater financial, distribution, marketing and other resources than we do and may be able to secure better arrangements from suppliers than we can. Competition is intense and we believe it will continue to be so, with certain competitors reducing their store locations while others move into or increase their presence in our geographic and product markets and increase the availability of mobile, web-based and other digital technology to facilitate a more convenient and competitive customer online and in-store shopping experience.

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We believe that we differentiate ourselves from other forms of retailing by offering consistently low prices in a convenient, small-store format. We are able to maintain competitive prices due in part to our low-cost operating structure and the relatively limited assortment of products offered. Purchasing large volumes of merchandise within our focused assortment in each merchandise category allows us to keep our average product

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costs low, contributing to our ability to offer competitive everyday low prices to our customers. See “—Our Business Model” above for further discussion of our competitive situation.

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Our Employees

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As of February 28, 2020, we employed approximately 143,000 full-time and part-time employees, including divisional and regional managers, district managers, store managers, other store personnel and distribution center and administrative personnel. We have increasingly focused on recruiting, training, motivating and retaining employees, and we believe that the quality, performance and morale of our employees continue to be an important part of our success in recent years. We believe our overall relationship with our employees is good.

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Our Trademarks

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We own marks that are registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and are protected under applicable intellectual property laws. We attempt to obtain registration of our trademarks whenever practicable and to pursue vigorously any infringement of those marks. Our trademark registrations have various expiration dates; however, assuming that the trademark registrations are properly renewed, they have a perpetual duration. We also hold an exclusive license to the Rexall brand through at least March 5, 2026 and the Believe Beauty brand through at least March 23, 2022.

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Available Information

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Our Internet website address is www.dollargeneral.com. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this Form 10-K. We file with or furnish to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports, proxy statements and annual reports to shareholders, and, from time to time, registration statements and other documents. These documents are available free of charge to investors on or through the Investor Information section of our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file them with or furnish them to the SEC. The SEC also maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers, such as Dollar General, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is http://www.sec.gov.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

Investment in our Company involves risks. You should carefully consider the risks described below and the other information in this report and other filings that we make from time to time with the SEC, including our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Any of the following risks could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity. These risks are not the only risks we face. Our business, financial condition, results of operations or liquidity could also be adversely affected by additional factors that apply to all companies generally or by risks not currently known to us or that we currently view to be immaterial. We can provide no assurance and make no representation that our risk mitigation efforts, although we believe they are reasonable, will be successful.

Economic factors may reduce our customers’ spending, impair our ability to execute our strategies and initiatives, and increase our costs and expenses, which could result in materially decreased sales or profitability.

Many of our customers have fixed or low incomes and limited discretionary spending dollars. Any factor that could adversely affect their disposable income could decrease our customers’ spending or cause them to shift their spending to our lower margin product choices, which could result in materially decreased sales and profitability. Factors that could reduce our customers’ disposable income include but are not limited to high unemployment or underemployment levels or decline in real wages; inflation; higher fuel, energy, healthcare and housing costs, interest rates, consumer debt levels, and tax rates; tax law changes that negatively affect credits and refunds; lack of available credit; and decreases in, or elimination of, government subsidies such as unemployment and food assistance programs.

Many of the economic factors listed above, as well as commodity rates; transportation, lease and insurance costs; wage rates; foreign exchange rate fluctuations; measures that create barriers to or increase the costs of international trade (including increased import duties or tariffs); changes in applicable laws and regulations; and other economic factors, also could impair our ability to successfully execute our strategies and initiatives, as well as increase our cost of goods sold and selling, general and administrative expenses (including real estate costs), and may have other adverse consequences that we are unable to fully anticipate or control, all of which may materially decrease our sales or profitability.

Our plans depend significantly on strategies and initiatives designed to increase sales and profitability and improve the efficiencies, costs and effectiveness of our operations, and failure to achieve or sustain these plans could materially affect our results of operations.

We have short-term and long-term strategies and initiatives (such as those relating to merchandising, real estate and new store development, store formats, digital, shrink, sourcing, private brand, inventory management, supply chain, store operations, expense reduction, and technology) in various stages of testing, evaluation, and implementation, which are designed to continue to improve our results of operations and financial condition. The effectiveness of these initiatives is inherently uncertain, even when tested successfully, and is dependent on consistency of training and execution, workforce stability, ease of execution, and the absence of offsetting factors that can influence results adversely. Many of these factors are made even more challenging by the number and diverse geographic locations of our stores and distribution centers and our decentralized field management. Other risk factors described herein also could negatively affect general implementation. Failure to achieve successful or cost-effective implementation of our initiatives could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

The success of our merchandising initiatives, particularly our non-consumable initiatives and efforts to increase sales of higher margin products within the consumables category, further depends in part upon our ability to predict the products that our customers will demand and to identify and timely respond to evolving trends in demographic mixes in our markets and consumer preferences. If we are unable to select and timely obtain

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products that are attractive to customers and at costs that allow us to sell them at an acceptable profit, or to effectively market such products, it could result in materially decreased sales and profitability.

The success of our DG Fresh initiative, our cold chain self-distribution initiative, further depends in part on our ability to effectively transition these distribution operations from our current service providers without business disruption, as well as on the availability of certain supply chain resources, including temperature-controlled distribution centers, refrigerated transportation equipment, and drivers. The success of our Fast Track initiative, which is designed to enhance our in-store labor productivity, on-shelf availability and customer convenience, further depends in part on customer interest and adoption of self-checkout, our ability to gain cost efficiencies and control shrink levels from the initiative, vendor cooperation, and successful implementation and maintenance of the necessary technology.  

If we cannot timely and cost-effectively execute our real estate projects and meet our financial expectations, or if we do not anticipate or successfully address the challenges imposed by our expansion, including into new states or urban areas, it could materially impede our planned future growth and our profitability.

Delays in or failure to complete a significant portion of our real estate projects, or failure to meet our financial expectations for these projects, could materially adversely affect our growth and our profitability. Our ability to timely open, relocate and remodel profitable stores and expand into additional market areas is a key component of our planned future growth and may depend in part on: the availability of suitable store locations and capital funding; the absence of entitlement process or occupancy delays, including zoning restrictions and moratoria on small box discount retail development passed by local governments; the ability to negotiate acceptable lease and development terms (for example, real estate development requirements and cost of building materials and labor), to cost-effectively hire and train new personnel, especially store managers, and to identify and accurately assess sufficient customer demand; and general economic conditions.

We also may not anticipate or successfully address all of the challenges imposed by the expansion of our operations, including into new states or urban areas where we have limited or no meaningful experience or brand recognition. Those areas may have different competitive and market conditions, consumer tastes and discretionary spending patterns than our existing markets, as well as higher cost of entry and operating costs. These factors may cause our new stores to be less profitable than stores in our existing markets, which could slow future growth in these areas. In addition, many new stores will be located in areas where we have existing stores, which inadvertently may temporarily or permanently divert a larger than anticipated number of customers and sales from our existing stores, thereby adversely affecting our overall financial performance.

We face intense competition that could limit our growth opportunities and materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

The retail business is highly competitive with respect to price, customers, store location, merchandise quality, product assortment and presentation, service offerings, in-stock consistency, customer service, ease of shopping experience, promotional activity, employees, and market share. We compete with discount stores and many other retailers, including mass merchandise, warehouse club, grocery, drug, convenience, variety, online retailers, and certain specialty stores. To maintain our competitive position, we may be required to lower prices, either temporarily or permanently, and may have limited ability to increase prices in response to increased costs, resulting in lower margins and reduced profitability. Certain of our competitors have greater financial, distribution, marketing and other resources, and may be able to secure better arrangements with suppliers, than we can.

Competition is intense, and is expected to continue to be so, with certain competitors reducing their store locations while others enter or increase their presence in our geographic and product markets (including through the expansion of availability of delivery services) and expand availability of mobile, web-based and other digital

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technologies to facilitate a more convenient and competitive online and in-store shopping experience. If our competitors or others were to enter our industry in a significant way, including through alliances or other business combinations, it could significantly alter the competitive dynamics of the retail marketplace and result in competitors with greatly improved competitive positions, which could materially affect our financial performance. Our ability to effectively compete will depend substantially upon our continued ability to develop and execute compelling and cost-effective strategies and initiatives. If we fail to anticipate or respond effectively to competitive pressures and industry changes, it could materially affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Inventory shrinkage may negatively affect our results of operations and financial condition.

We experience significant inventory shrinkage. Although some level of inventory shrinkage is an unavoidable cost of doing business, higher rates of inventory shrinkage or increased security or other costs to combat inventory theft could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in our efforts to reduce inventory shrinkage.

Our cash flows from operations, profitability and financial condition may be negatively affected if we are not successful in managing our inventory balances.

Our inventory balance represented approximately 55% of our total assets exclusive of goodwill, operating lease assets, and other intangible assets as of January 31, 2020. Efficient inventory management is a key component of our business success and profitability. We must maintain sufficient inventory levels and an appropriate product mix to meet our customers’ demands without allowing those levels to increase such that the costs to store and hold the goods unduly impacts our financial results or increases the risk of inventory shrinkage. If we do not accurately predict customer trends, spending levels, or price sensitivity, we may have to take unanticipated markdowns to dispose of the excess inventory, which also can adversely affect our financial results. We continue to focus on ways to reduce these risks, but we cannot make assurances that we will be successful in our inventory management. If we are not successful in managing our inventory balances, our cash flows from operations and financial condition may be negatively affected.

Failure to maintain the security of our business, customer, employee or vendor information or to comply with privacy laws could expose us to litigation, government enforcement actions and costly response measures, and could materially harm our reputation and affect our business and financial performance.

In connection with sales, we transmit confidential credit and debit card information which is encrypted using point-to-point encryption. We also have access to, collect or maintain certain private or confidential information regarding our customers, employees and their dependents, and vendors, as well as our business. Some of this information is stored electronically in connection with our e-commerce and mobile applications, some of which may leverage third-party service providers. Additionally, we may share information with select vendors that assist us in conducting our business. While we have implemented procedures and technology intended to protect such information and require appropriate controls of our service providers, cyberattackers could compromise such controls and obtain such information, as cyberattacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated and do not always immediately produce signs of intrusion. Moreover, inadvertent or malicious employee actions could result in a defeat of security measures and compromise our or our third-party vendors’ information systems. Like other retailers, we and our vendors have experienced threats to data and systems, including by perpetrators of attempted random or targeted malicious cyberattacks, computer viruses, worms, bot attacks or other destructive or disruptive software and attempts to misappropriate our information and cause system failures and disruptions. If cyberattackers obtain customer, employee or vendor passwords through unrelated third-party breaches, these passwords could be used to gain access to their information or accounts with us.

Because we accept debit and credit cards for payment, we are subject to industry data protection standards and protocols, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards, issued by the Payment Card

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Industry Security Standards Council. Nonetheless, we may be vulnerable to, and unable to detect and appropriately respond to, data security breaches and data loss, including cybersecurity attacks or other breaches of cardholder data.

A significant security breach of any kind experienced by us or one of our vendors, which could be undetected for a period of time, or a significant failure by us or one of our vendors to comply with applicable privacy and information security laws, regulations and standards could expose us to risks of data loss, litigation, government enforcement actions, fines or penalties, credit card brand assessments, negative publicity and reputational harm, business disruption and costly response measures (for example, providing notification to, and credit monitoring services for, affected individuals, as well as further upgrades to our security measures) which may not be covered by or may exceed the coverage limits of our insurance policies, and could materially disrupt our operations. Any resulting negative publicity could significantly harm our reputation which could cause us to lose market share as a result of customers discontinuing the use of our e-commerce and mobile applications or debit or credit cards in our stores or not shopping in our stores altogether and could materially adversely affect our business and financial performance.

Material damage or interruptions to our information systems as a result of external factors, staffing shortages or challenges in maintaining or updating our existing technology or developing or implementing new technology could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We depend on a variety of information technology systems, including systems owned and managed by third-party vendors, for the efficient functioning of our business, including, without limitation, transaction processing and the management of our employees, facilities, logistics, inventories, stores and customer-facing digital applications and operations. Our technology initiatives may not deliver desired results or may do so on a delayed schedule. Additionally, such systems are subject to damage or interruption from power surges and outages, facility damage, physical theft, computer and telecommunications failures, inadequate or ineffective redundancy, malicious code (including computer viruses, worms, ransomware, or similar), cyberattacks (including account compromise; phishing; denial of service attacks; and application, network or system vulnerability exploitation), software upgrade failures or code defects, natural disasters and human error. Design defects or damage or interruption to these systems may require a significant investment to fix or replace, disrupt our operations, result in the loss or corruption of critical data, and harm our reputation, all of which could materially adversely affect our business or results of operations.

We also rely heavily on our information technology staff. Failure to meet these staffing needs may negatively affect our ability to fulfill our technology initiatives while continuing to provide maintenance on existing systems. We rely on third parties to maintain and periodically upgrade many of these systems so that they can continue to support our business. We license the software programs supporting many of our systems from independent software developers. The inability of these vendors, developers or us to continue to maintain and upgrade these systems and software programs could disrupt or reduce the efficiency of our operations if we were unable to convert to alternate systems in an efficient and timely manner and could expose us to greater risk of a cyberattack. In addition, costs and delays associated with the implementation of new or upgraded systems and technology, including the migration of applications to the cloud, or with maintenance or adequate support of existing systems also could disrupt or reduce the efficiency of our operations, fail to operate as designed, result in the potential loss or corruption of data or information, disrupt operations and affect our ability to meet business and reporting requirements and adversely affect our profitability.

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A significant disruption to our distribution network, the capacity of our distribution centers or the timely receipt of inventory could adversely affect sales or increase our transportation costs, which would decrease our profitability.

We rely on our distribution and transportation network to provide goods to our stores timely and cost-effectively. Using various transportation modes, including ocean, rail, and truck, we and our vendors move goods from vendor locations to our distribution centers and our stores. Any disruption, unanticipated or unusual expense or operational failure related to this process (for example, delivery delays, including as a result of pandemic outbreaks, or increases in transportation costs, including increased fuel costs, import freight costs, carrier or driver wages as a result of driver shortages; a decrease in transportation capacity for overseas shipments; labor shortages; or work stoppages for slowdowns) could negatively impact sales and profits. Labor shortages or work stoppages in the transportation industry or disruptions to the national and international transportation infrastructure that lead to delivery delays or that necessitate our securing alternative labor or shipping suppliers could also increase our costs or otherwise negatively affect our business. The recent outbreak of the strain of COVID-19 has led various governments to take precautionary measures to limit the spread of the virus, including port closures and other restrictions, which could disrupt the global transportation and distribution of goods resulting in product delivery delays or higher delivery prices. As of the date of this filing, we do not anticipate that supply chain disruptions either known or experienced to date as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak are likely to have a material impact on our financial results in 2020. However, the extent to which the COVID-19 outbreak may impact our distribution network, results of operations (including sales) or business in the future is uncertain as the situation continues to evolve, and such impact could be more significant.

We maintain a network of distribution facilities and are moving forward with plans to build or lease new facilities to support our growth objectives and strategic initiatives. Delays in opening such facilities could adversely affect our financial performance by slowing store growth or the rollout of certain strategic initiatives such as our DG Fresh initiative, which may in turn reduce revenue growth, or by increasing transportation and product costs. In addition, distribution-related construction or expansion projects entail risks that could cause delays and cost overruns, such as: shortages of materials or skilled labor; work stoppages; unforeseen construction, scheduling, engineering, environmental or geological problems; weather interference; fires or other casualty losses; and unanticipated cost increases. For these reasons, the completion date and ultimate cost of these projects could differ significantly from initial expectations, and we cannot guarantee that any project will be completed on time or within established budgets.

Risks associated with or faced by our suppliers could adversely affect our financial performance.

We source our merchandise from a wide variety of domestic and international suppliers, and we depend on them to supply merchandise in a timely and efficient manner. In 2019, our two largest suppliers each accounted for approximately 8% of our purchases. If one or more of our current sources of supply became unavailable, we believe we generally would be able to obtain alternative sources, but it could increase our merchandise costs and supply chain lead time, result in a temporary reduction in store inventory levels, and reduce the selection and quality of our merchandise. An inability to obtain alternative sources could materially decrease our sales. Additionally, if a supplier fails to deliver on its commitments, we could experience merchandise out-of-stocks that could lead to lost sales and reputational harm. Further, failure of suppliers to meet our compliance protocols could prolong our procurement lead time, resulting in lost sales and adverse margin impact.

We directly imported approximately 6% of our purchases (measured at cost) in 2019, but many of our domestic vendors directly import their products or components of their products. Changes to the prices and flow of these goods for any reason, such as political unrest, acts of war, currency fluctuations, disruptions in maritime lanes, port labor disputes, economic conditions and instability in countries in which foreign suppliers are located, the financial instability of suppliers, failure to meet our standards, issues with our suppliers’ labor practices or labor problems they may experience (such as strikes, stoppages or slowdowns, which could also increase labor costs during and following the disruption), the availability and cost of raw materials, pandemic outbreaks, merchandise quality or safety issues, transport availability and cost, increases in wage rates and taxes, transport

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security, inflation, and other factors relating to suppliers and the countries in which they are located or from which they import, often are beyond our control and could adversely affect our operations and profitability.

While we are working to diversify our sources of imported goods, a substantial amount of our imported merchandise comes from China, and thus, a change in the Chinese leadership, the effects of pandemic outbreaks including COVID-19, economic and market conditions, internal economic stimulus actions, or currency or other policies, as well as trade relations between China and the United States and increases in costs of labor and wage taxes, could negatively impact our merchandise costs. We currently expect delays in the receipt of certain goods as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, but as of the date of this filing, we do not anticipate that these known supply chain disruptions experienced to date as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak are likely to have a material impact on our financial results in 2020. However, the extent to which the COVID-19 outbreak may impact our supply chain, results of operations (including sales) or business in the future is uncertain as the situation continues to evolve, and such impact could be more significant. In addition, the United States’ foreign trade policies, duties, tariffs and other impositions on imported goods, trade sanctions imposed on certain countries (particularly China), import limitations on certain types of goods or of goods containing certain materials from other countries and other factors relating to foreign trade and port labor agreements are beyond our control. These and other factors affecting our suppliers and our access to products could adversely affect our business and financial performance. If we increase our product imports from foreign vendors, the risks associated with these imports also will increase, and we may be exposed to additional or different risks as we increase imports of goods produced in countries other than China.

Product liability, product recall or other product safety or labeling claims could adversely affect our business, reputation and financial performance.

We are dependent on our vendors to ensure that the products we buy from them comply with applicable product safety and labeling laws and regulations and to inform us of all applicable restrictions on the sale of such products. Nonetheless, product liability, personal injury or other claims may be asserted against us relating to product contamination, tampering, expiration, mislabeling, recall and other safety or labeling issues, including those relating to products that we may self-distribute through our DG Fresh initiative.

We seek but may not be successful in obtaining contractual indemnification and insurance coverage from our vendors. If we do not have adequate contractual indemnification or insurance available, such claims could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Our ability to obtain indemnification from foreign vendors may be hindered by our ability to obtain jurisdiction over them to enforce contractual obligations. Even with adequate insurance and indemnification, such claims could significantly harm our reputation and consumer confidence in our products and we could incur significant litigation expenses, which also could materially affect our results of operations even if a product liability claim is unsuccessful or not fully pursued.

A significant change in governmental regulations and requirements could materially increase our cost of doing business, and noncompliance with governmental regulations could materially adversely affect our financial performance.

We routinely incur significant costs in complying with numerous and frequently changing laws and regulations. The complexity of this regulatory environment and related compliance costs are increasing due to additional legal and regulatory requirements, our expanding operations, and increased regulatory scrutiny and enforcement efforts. New or revised laws, regulations, policies and related interpretations and enforcement practices, particularly those dealing with environmental compliance, product and food safety or labeling, information security and privacy, labor and employment, employee wages, and those governing the sale of products, may significantly increase our expenses or require extensive system and operating changes that could materially increase our cost of doing business. Violations of applicable laws and regulations or untimely or incomplete execution of a required product recall can result in significant penalties (including loss of licenses, eligibility to accept certain government benefits such as SNAP or significant fines), class action or other litigation,

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and reputational damage. Additionally, changes in tax laws, the interpretation of existing laws, or our failure to sustain our reporting positions on examination could adversely affect our overall effective tax rate.

Legal proceedings may adversely affect our reputation, business, results of operations and financial condition.

Our business is subject to the risk of litigation or other legal proceedings by employees, consumers, suppliers, competitors, shareholders, government agencies and others through private actions, class actions, multi-district litigation, arbitrations, derivative actions, administrative proceedings, regulatory actions or other litigation. For example, we are involved in certain legal proceedings as discussed in Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements. The outcome of legal proceedings, particularly class action or multi-district litigation or mass arbitrations and regulatory actions, can be difficult to assess or quantify. Plaintiffs in these types of lawsuits may seek recovery of very large or indeterminate amounts, and the magnitude of the potential loss may remain unknown for lengthy periods. In addition, certain of these matters, if decided adversely to us or settled by us, may result in liability material to our financial statements as a whole or may negatively affect our operating results if changes to our business operations are required, and sometimes these developments are unanticipated. Legal proceedings in general, and class actions, multi-district litigation and derivative actions in particular, can be expensive and disruptive, and adverse publicity could harm our reputation, regardless of the validity of the allegations. As a result, legal proceedings may adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. See also Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements.

Our current insurance program may expose us to unexpected costs and negatively affect our financial performance.

Our insurance coverage reflects deductibles, self-insured retentions, limits of liability and similar provisions that we believe are prudent based on our operations. However, there are types of losses we may incur but against which we cannot be insured or which we believe are not economically reasonable to insure, such as losses due to acts of war, certain crimes, including employee crime, certain wage and hour and other employment-related claims and litigation, actions based on certain consumer protection laws, and some natural and other disasters or similar events. If we incur material uninsured losses, our financial performance could suffer. Certain material events may result in sizable losses for the insurance industry and adversely affect the availability of adequate insurance coverage or result in excessive premium increases. To offset negative insurance market trends, we may elect to self-insure, accept higher deductibles or reduce the amount of coverage. In addition, we self-insure a significant portion of expected losses under our workers’ compensation, automobile liability, general liability (including claims made against certain of our landlords) and group health insurance programs. Significant changes in actuarial assumptions and management estimates underlying our recorded liabilities for these losses, including expected increases in medical and indemnity costs, could result in materially different expenses than expected under these programs, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition. Although we maintain property insurance for catastrophic events at our store support center and distribution centers, we are effectively self-insured for other property losses. If we experience a greater number of these losses than we anticipate, our financial performance could be adversely affected.

Natural disasters and unusual weather conditions (whether or not caused by climate change), pandemic outbreaks or other health crises, acts of violence or terrorism, and global political events could disrupt business and result in lower sales and otherwise adversely affect our financial performance.

The occurrence of one or more natural disasters, such as hurricanes, fires, floods, tornadoes and earthquakes, unusual weather conditions, pandemic outbreaks or other health crises (including but not limited to the COVID-19 outbreak), acts of violence or terrorism (including within our stores, distribution centers or other Company property), or disruptive global political events, such as civil unrest in countries in which our suppliers are located, or similar disruptions could adversely affect our reputation, business and financial performance. If any of these events result in the closure of one or more of our distribution centers, a significant number of stores, or our corporate headquarters or impact one or more of our key suppliers, our operations and financial

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performance could be materially adversely affected through an inability to make deliveries or provide other support functions to our stores and through lost sales. These events also could affect consumer shopping patterns or prevent customers from reaching our stores, which could lead to lost sales and higher markdowns, or result in increases in fuel or other energy prices, a fuel shortage, store or distribution center opening delays, the temporary lack of an adequate work force in a market, the temporary or long-term disruption of product availability in our stores, the temporary or long-term inability to obtain technology needed to effectively run our business, and disruption of our utility services or information systems. These events may also increase the costs of insurance if they result in significant loss of property or other insurable damage.

Failure to attract, train and retain qualified employees while controlling labor costs, as well as other labor issues, could adversely affect our financial performance.

Our future growth and performance, positive customer experience and legal and regulatory compliance depends on our ability to attract, train, retain and motivate qualified employees while operating in an industry challenged by historically high rates of employee turnover. Our ability to meet our labor needs, while controlling our labor costs, is subject to many external factors, including competition for and availability of qualified personnel, unemployment levels, wage rates, minimum wage laws, health and other insurance costs, changes in employment and labor laws or other workplace regulations (including changes in employee benefit programs such as health insurance and paid leave programs), employee activism, and our reputation and relevance within the labor market. If we are unable to attract, train and retain adequate numbers of qualified employees, our operations, customer service levels, legal and regulatory compliance, and support functions could suffer. In addition, to the extent a significant portion of our employee base unionizes, or attempts to unionize, our labor and other related costs could increase. Our ability to pass along labor and other related costs to our customers is constrained by our everyday low price model, and we may not be able to offset such increased costs elsewhere in our business.

Our success depends on our executive officers and other key personnel. If we lose key personnel or are unable to hire additional qualified personnel, our business may be harmed.

Our future success depends to a significant degree on the skills, experience and efforts of our executive officers and other key personnel. The unexpected loss of the services of any of such persons could adversely affect our operations. There can be no assurance that our executive succession planning, retention or hiring efforts will be successful. Competition for skilled and experienced management personnel is intense, and our future success will also depend on our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel, and a failure to attract and retain new qualified personnel could adversely affect our operations.

Our private brands may not be successful in improving our gross profit rate and may increase certain of the risks we face.

The sale of private brand items is an important component of our sales growth and gross profit rate enhancement plans. Broad market acceptance of our private brands depends on many factors, including pricing, quality, customer perception, and timely development and introduction of new products. We cannot give assurance that we will achieve or maintain our expected level of private brand sales. The sale and expansion of these offerings also subjects us to or increases certain risks, such as: product liability claims and product recalls; disruptions in raw material and finished product supply and distribution chains; inability to successfully protect our proprietary rights; claims related to the proprietary rights of third parties; and other risks generally encountered by entities that source, sell and market exclusive branded offerings for retail. Failure to appropriately address these risks could materially adversely affect our private brand initiatives, reputation, results of operations and financial condition.

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Because our business is somewhat seasonal, adverse events during the fourth quarter could materially affect our financial statements as a whole.

Primarily because of sales of Christmas-related merchandise, our most profitable sales mix generally occurs in the fourth quarter. In anticipation of this holiday, we purchase substantial amounts of seasonal inventory, and if sales fall below seasonal norms or our expectations it could result in unanticipated markdowns. Adverse events, such as deteriorating economic conditions, high unemployment rates, high gas prices, transportation disruptions, or unusual or unanticipated adverse weather could result in lower-than-planned sales during the Christmas selling season, which in turn could reduce our profitability and otherwise adversely affect our financial performance and operating results.

Deterioration in market conditions or changes in our credit profile could adversely affect our business operations and financial condition.

We rely on the positive cash flow we generate from our operating activities and our access to the credit and capital markets to fund our operations, growth strategy, and return of cash to our shareholders through share repurchases and dividends. Changes in the credit and capital markets, including market disruptions, limited liquidity and interest rate fluctuations, may increase the cost of financing or restrict our access to these potential sources of future liquidity. Our continued access to liquidity sources on favorable terms depends on multiple factors, including our operating performance and credit ratings. Our debt securities currently are rated investment grade, and a downgrade of this rating likely would negatively impact our access to the debt capital markets and increase our cost of borrowing. As a result, disruptions in the debt markets or any downgrade of our credit ratings could adversely affect our business operations and financial condition and our ability to return cash to our shareholders. We can make no assurances that our ability to obtain additional financing through the debt markets will not be adversely affected by economic conditions or that we will be able to maintain or improve our current credit ratings.

New accounting guidance or changes in the interpretation or application of existing accounting guidance could adversely affect our financial performance.

The implementation of new accounting standards could require certain systems, internal process and controls and other changes that could increase our operating costs, and will result in changes to our financial statements. In 2019 for example, the implementation of accounting standards related to leases, as issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, required us to make significant changes to our lease management and other accounting systems, and resulted in a material impact to our consolidated financial statements.

U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and related accounting pronouncements, implementation guidelines and interpretations with regard to a wide range of matters that are relevant to our business involve many subjective assumptions, estimates and judgments by our management. Changes in these rules or their interpretation or in underlying management assumptions, estimates or judgments could significantly change our reported or expected financial performance. The outcome of such changes could include litigation or regulatory actions which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

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None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

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As of February 28, 2020, we operated 16,368 retail stores located in 45 states as follows:

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Most of our stores are located in leased premises. Individual store leases vary as to their terms, rental provisions and expiration dates. Many stores, including a significant portion of our new stores, are subject to build-to-suit arrangements with landlords, which typically carry a primary lease term of up to 15 years with multiple renewal options. We also have stores subject to shorter-term leases, and many of these leases have renewal options.

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As of February 28, 2020, we operated 17 distribution centers for non-refrigerated merchandise with approximately 16.9 million square feet, four of which are leased and the remainder of which are owned. Approximately 7.25 acres of the land for one of the distribution centers is subject to a ground lease. We also leased approximately 1.1 million square feet of warehouse space in support of our distribution network for non-refrigerated merchandise. In addition, we operated five cold storage distribution centers with approximately 1.1 million square feet, four of which are leased and one of which is owned, and we have executed leases for two additional cold storage distribution centers with approximately 0.7 million square feet, which are expected to be operational later in 2020.

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Our executive offices are located in approximately 302,000 square feet of owned buildings and approximately 42,000 square feet of leased office space in Goodlettsville, Tennessee.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

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The information contained in Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements under the heading “Legal proceedings” contained in Part II, Item 8 of this report is incorporated herein by this reference.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

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None.

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INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

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Information regarding our current executive officers as of March 19, 2020 is set forth below. Each of our executive officers serves at the discretion of our Board of Directors and is elected annually by the Board to serve until a successor is duly elected. There are no familial relationships between any of our directors or executive officers.

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Mr. Vasos has served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of our Board since June 2015.  He joined Dollar General in December 2008 as Executive Vice President, Division President and Chief Merchandising Officer and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in November 2013.  Prior to joining Dollar General, Mr. Vasos served in executive positions with Longs Drug Stores Corporation for seven years, including Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (February 2008 to November 2008) and Senior Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer (2001 to 2008), where he was responsible for all pharmacy and front-end marketing, merchandising, procurement, supply chain, advertising, store development, store layout and space allocation, and the operation of three distribution centers. He also previously served in leadership positions at Phar-Mor Food and Drug Inc. and Eckerd Corporation.

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Mr. Garratt has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since December 2015.  He joined Dollar General in October 2014 as Senior Vice President, Finance & Strategy and subsequently served as Interim Chief Financial Officer from July 2015 to December 2015.  Mr. Garratt previously held various positions of increasing responsibility in corporate strategy and financial planning with Yum! Brands, Inc., one of the world’s largest restaurant companies, between May 2004 and October 2014, including Vice President, Finance and Division Controller for the KFC division and earlier for the Pizza Hut division and for Yum Restaurants International (October 2013 to October 2014); Senior Director, Yum Corporate Strategy (March 2010 to October 2013), reporting directly to the corporate Chief Financial Officer and leading corporate strategy as well as driving key cross-divisional initiatives; and various other financial positions.  He previously held financial management positions at Alcoa Inc. (April 2002 to May 2004) and General Electric (March 1999 to April 2002), after beginning his career with Alcoa in May 1990. Mr. Garratt has served as a director of Humana Inc. since February 2020.

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Mr. Owen has served as Chief Operating Officer since August 27, 2019. He returned to Dollar General in June 2015 as Executive Vice President of Store Operations, with over 21 years of previous employment experience with the Company.  Prior to his departure from Dollar General in July 2014, he was Senior Vice President, Store Operations.  Prior to August 2011, Mr. Owen served as Vice President, Division Manager, and from November 2006 to March 2007 he served as Retail Division Manager.  Prior to November 2006, he was Senior Director, Operations Process Improvement.  Mr. Owen also served the Company in various operations

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roles of increasing importance and responsibility from December 1992 to September 2004.  Mr. Owen has served as a director of Kirkland’s Inc. since March 2015.

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Mr. Kindy has served as Executive Vice President, Global Supply Chain since August 2018. He joined Dollar General as Vice President, Distribution Centers in December 2008, became Vice President, Transportation in May 2013, and was promoted to Senior Vice President, Global Supply Chain in June 2015. Prior to joining Dollar General, Mr. Kindy had 14 years of grocery distribution management and 5 years of logistics and distribution consulting experience. He served as Senior Director, Warehouse Operations, for ConAgra Foods from November 2007 to December 2008.  Since beginning his career in July 1989, Mr. Kindy also held various distribution and warehouse leadership positions at Safeway, Inc., Crum & Crum Logistics, and Specialized Distribution Management, Inc., and served as a principal consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers.

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Mr. Reiser has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer since July 2017.  He previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Vitamin Shoppe, Inc., a multi-channel specialty retailer and contract manufacturer of health and wellness products, from July 2016 to July 2017, where he led merchandising, operations, end-to-end supply chain, information technology, real estate and construction, planning, pricing and merchandising operations. He also previously served as Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising Officer (January 2014 to June 2016) and as Senior Vice President, Hardlines Merchandising (July 2013 to January 2014) for discount retailer Dollar Tree, Inc. (successor to Family Dollar Stores, Inc.) and was employed by Walmart Stores, Inc. for 17 years in a variety of roles, including Vice President, Merchandising, Health & Family Care of Sam’s Club (November 2010 to June 2013); Vice President, Operations & Compliance, Health & Wellness of Sam’s Club (May 2010 to November 2010); Divisional Merchandise Manager, Wellness (May 2009 to May 2010); Senior Buyer Pharmacy/OTC of Sam’s Club (November 2006 to May 2009); Director, Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs (August 2002 to November 2006); Pharmacy District Manager (August 2000 to August 2002); and Pharmacy Manager (October 1995 to August 2000).

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Mr. Sunderland has served as Executive Vice President, Store Operations, since August 2019. He joined Dollar General as Senior Vice President, Store Operations, in September 2014. Mr. Sunderland previously served as Senior Vice President, Retail Operations, of Office Depot, Inc. (November 2013 to January 2014); Senior Vice President, Retail Operations, of OfficeMax Incorporated (May 2012 to November 2013); Chief Operating Officer of Bally Total Fitness Holding Corporation (2011 to April 2012); and World Kitchen, LLC’s President of Retail (2009 to 2011). Mr. Sunderland began his career with Sears in 1987, holding various positions of increasing responsibility, including Vice President of Strategic Operations for Sears Holdings Corporation from 2007 until 2009.

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Ms. Taylor has served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel since March 2015.  She joined Dollar General as an Employment Attorney in March 2000 and was subsequently promoted to Senior Employment Attorney in 2001, Deputy General Counsel in 2004, Vice President and Assistant General Counsel in March 2010, and Senior Vice President and General Counsel in June 2013.  Prior to joining Dollar General, she practiced law with Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., where her practice was focused on labor law and employment litigation. She has also held attorney positions with Ford & Harrison LLP and Stokes Bartholomew. 

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Mr. Wenkoff has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer since July 2017.  He previously served as the Chief Information Officer (May 2012 to June 2017) and Chief Digital Officer (June 2016 to June 2017) of Franchise World Headquarters, LLC (“Subway”), a restaurant chain, where he was responsible for global technology and digital strategy, execution and operations for the Subway brand and all of its restaurants. He owned a Subway franchise from July 2015 until October 2017. He also previously served as Chairman of the Board and Co-President of Retail Gift Card Association (February 2008 to May 2012); Deputy Chief Information Officer for Independent Purchase Cooperative, Inc. (May 2005 to May 2012) and President of its subsidiary, Value Pay Services LLC (May 2005 to February 2011); founder and President of Stored Value Management, Inc. (January 2004 to May 2005); and Vice President, Operations and Finance, and General Counsel

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of Ontain Corporation (January 2000 to December 2004).  Mr. Wenkoff began his career in 1993 as an articled student, and then attorney with Douglas Symes & Brissenden and served in various legal positions, including General Counsel, with Pivotal Corporation from 1997 to 2000.

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Ms. Elliott has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer since December 2015.  She joined Dollar General as Senior Vice President and Controller in August 2005. Prior to joining Dollar General, she served as Vice President and Controller of Big Lots, Inc. from May 2001 to August 2005, where she was responsible for accounting operations, financial reporting and internal audit. Prior to serving at Big Lots, she served as Vice President and Controller for Jitney-Jungle Stores of America, Inc. from April 1998 to March 2001, where she was responsible for the accounting operations and the internal and external financial reporting functions. Prior to serving at Jitney-Jungle, she practiced public accounting for 12 years, 6 of which were with Ernst & Young LLP.

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Ms. Reardon has served as Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer since May 2019. She joined Dollar General as Director, Human Resources in September 2009 and was promoted to Vice President, Talent Management in October 2012. She became Vice President, Retail Human Resources in October 2014 and was promoted to Senior Vice President, Human Resources in March 2019. Prior to joining Dollar General, Ms. Reardon held several positions of increasing responsibility at Centex from August 2005 until September 2009, serving as Director of Human Resources from October 2007 until September 2009. Since beginning her career in May 1998, Ms. Reardon also held various roles with Carrier Corporation, including Manager of Human Resources from August 2003 until August 2005, and was also a Career Consultant at the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Virginia, from August 2001 until August 2003.

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PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

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Market Information

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Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “DG.” On March 12, 2020, there were approximately 2,613 shareholders of record of our common stock.

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Dividends

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We have paid quarterly cash dividends since 2015. Our Board of Directors most recently increased the amount of the quarterly cash dividend to $0.36 beginning with the dividend payable on April 21, 2020. While our Board of Directors currently expects to continue regular quarterly cash dividends, the declaration and amount of future cash dividends are subject to the Board’s sole discretion and will depend upon, among other things, our results of operations, cash requirements, financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors that the Board may deem relevant in its sole discretion.

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Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

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The following table contains information regarding purchases of our common stock made during the quarter ended January 31, 2020 by or on behalf of Dollar General or any “affiliated purchaser,” as defined by Rule 10b-18(a)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934:

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

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The following table sets forth selected consolidated financial and operating information of Dollar General Corporation as of the dates and for the periods indicated. The selected historical statement of income data and statement of cash flows data for the fiscal years ended January 31, 2020, February 1, 2019, and February 2, 2018, and balance sheet data as of January 31, 2020 and February 1, 2019, have been derived from our historical audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report. The selected historical statement of income data and statement of cash flows data for the fiscal years ended February 3, 2017 and January 29, 2016 and balance sheet data as of February 2, 2018, February 3, 2017, and January 29, 2016 presented in this table have been derived from audited consolidated financial statements not included in this report.

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The information set forth below should be read in conjunction with, and is qualified by reference to, the Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included in Part II, Item 8 of this report and the Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in Part II, Item 7 of this report. Certain financial disclosures relating to prior periods have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

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This discussion and analysis should be read with, and is qualified in its entirety by, the Consolidated Financial Statements and the notes thereto. It also should be read in conjunction with the Cautionary Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and the Risk Factors disclosures set forth in the Introduction and in Item 1A of this report, respectively.

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Executive Overview

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We are among the largest discount retailers in the United States by number of stores, with 16,368 stores located in 45 states as of February 28, 2020, with the greatest concentration of stores in the southern, southwestern, midwestern and eastern United States. We offer a broad selection of merchandise, including consumable products such as food, paper and cleaning products, health and beauty products and pet supplies, and non-consumable products such as seasonal merchandise, home decor and domestics, and basic apparel. Our merchandise includes national brands from leading manufacturers, as well as our own private brand selections with prices at substantial discounts to national brands. We offer our customers these national brand and private brand products at everyday low prices (typically $10 or less) in our convenient small-box locations.

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We believe our convenient store formats, locations, and broad selection of high-quality products at compelling values have driven our substantial growth and financial success over the years and through a variety of economic cycles. We are mindful that the majority of our customers are value-conscious, and many have low and/or fixed incomes. As a result, we are intensely focused on helping our customers make the most of their spending dollars. Our core customers are often among the first to be affected by negative or uncertain economic conditions and among the last to feel the effects of improving economic conditions particularly when trends are inconsistent and of an uncertain duration. The primary macroeconomic factors that affect our core customers include the unemployment and underemployment rates, wage growth, changes in U.S. and global trade policy (including price increases from tariffs), and changes to certain government assistance programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Additionally, our customers are impacted by increases in those expenses that generally comprise a large portion of their household budget, such as rent, healthcare and fuel prices. Finally, significant unseasonable or unusual weather patterns can impact customer shopping behaviors.

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We remain committed to the following long-term operating priorities as we consistently strive to improve our performance while retaining our customer-centric focus: 1) driving profitable sales growth, 2) capturing growth opportunities, 3) enhancing our position as a low-cost operator, and 4) investing in our people as a competitive advantage.

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We seek to drive profitable sales growth through initiatives aimed at increasing customer traffic and average transaction amount. As we work to provide everyday low prices and meet our customers’ affordability needs, we remain focused on enhancing our margins through effective category management, inventory shrink reduction initiatives, private brands penetration, distribution and transportation efficiencies, global sourcing, and pricing and markdown optimization. Several of our sales-driving initiatives are also designed to capture growth opportunities and are discussed in more detail below.

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Historically, our sales of consumables, which tend to have lower gross margins, have been the key drivers of net sales and customer traffic, while sales of non-consumables, which tend to have higher gross margins, have contributed to more profitable sales growth and an increase in average transaction amount. Our sales mix has continued to shift slightly toward consumables, and, within consumables, slightly toward lower margin departments such as perishables. While we expect some sales mix challenges to persist, certain of our initiatives are intended to address these trends, although there can be no assurance we will be successful in reversing them.

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We continue to make progress on and invest in certain strategic initiatives that we believe will help drive profitable sales growth and capture long-term growth opportunities. Such opportunities include leveraging existing and developing new digital tools and technology to provide our customers with additional shopping access points and even greater convenience. Additionally, our refreshed approach to our non-consumable product offerings has been implemented in approximately 2,400 stores as of the end of 2019. This merchandising strategy, which is continuing to evolve and help shape our approach to non-consumable categories throughout the chain, offers a new, differentiated and limited assortment that will change throughout the year. As we extend this initiative more broadly, as well as incorporate certain related merchandising efforts throughout our chain, our goal is to continue to improve the shopping experience while delivering exceptional value within key areas of our non-consumable categories.

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We are continuing our rollout of the “DG Fresh” initiative, a self-distribution model for fresh and frozen products that is designed to enhance sales, reduce product costs, improve our in-stock position and enhance item assortment. We currently operate five DG Fresh distribution facilities, which served more than 6,000 stores as of February 28, 2020.

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Tariffs on products from China, as applied to both our direct imports and domestic purchases, did not have a net material impact on our financial results in 2019. We believe we can mitigate the potential sales and margin impact of such increased tariffs on our financial results in 2020 through various sourcing, merchandising and pricing efforts. However, as noted above, changes in trade policy that result in higher prices for our customers may negatively impact their budgets, and consequently, their spending, and additional increases in tariff rates or expansion of products subject to tariffs may have a more significant impact on our future business. There can be no assurance we will be successful in our efforts to mitigate the impacts of existing or future tariffs in whole or in part, including but not limited to any impacts on customer spending.

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We have limited insight into the extent to which our business may be impacted by the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, and there are many unknowns. While we currently expect delays in the receipt of certain goods in 2020 as a result of this outbreak, we do not currently anticipate a material impact to our financial results in 2020 due to these delays. Further delays in the receipt of goods, or other unanticipated impacts to our supply chain, including on direct imports or goods purchased domestically, our stores or our customers, could have a more significant impact on our future business (including sales), and we are continuing to monitor this evolving situation.

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To support our other operating priorities, we remain focused on capturing growth opportunities. In 2019, we opened 975 new stores, remodeled 1,024 stores, and relocated 100 stores. For 2020, we plan to open approximately 1,000 new stores, remodel approximately 1,500 stores, and relocate approximately 80 stores for a total of 2,580 real estate projects.

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We continue to innovate within our channel and are able to utilize the most productive of our various store formats based on the specific market opportunity. We expect that our traditional 7,300 square foot store format will continue to be the primary store layout for new stores in 2020. We expect approximately 1,125 of the planned 1,500 remodels in 2020 to use a higher-cooler-count store format that enables us to offer an increased selection of perishable items, with the traditional store format the primary store layout for the remainder of the real estate projects. Additionally, the majority of both new stores and remodels will incorporate higher-capacity coolers. The acceleration of remodels in 2020 and the increased usage of the higher-cooler-count formats is expected to allow us to capture additional growth opportunities within our existing markets. In addition, our smaller format store (less than 6,000 square feet) is expected to allow us to capture growth opportunities in urban areas. We continue to incorporate lessons learned from our various store formats and layouts into our existing store base with a goal of driving increased customer traffic, average transaction amount, same-store sales and overall store productivity.

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To support our new store growth and drive productivity, we have continued to make investments in our traditional distribution center network for non-refrigerated merchandise. We began shipping from our distribution centers in Longview, Texas and Amsterdam, New York in January 2019 and December 2019, respectively.

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We have established a position as a low-cost operator, always seeking ways to reduce or control costs that do not affect our customers’ shopping experiences. We plan to continue enhancing this position over time while employing ongoing cost discipline to reduce certain expenses as a percentage of sales. Nonetheless, we seek to maintain flexibility to invest in the business as necessary to enhance our long-term profitability.

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We also have launched “Fast Track”, an initiative aimed at further enhancing our convenience proposition and in-stock position as well as increasing labor productivity within our stores. The first phase of Fast Track involved sorting process optimization within our distribution centers, as well as increased shelf-ready packaging, to allow for greater store-level stocking efficiencies, followed by the second-phase pilot of a self-checkout option in a limited number of stores. We have completed the sorting process optimization at all of our non-refrigerated distribution centers. Additionally, we have launched the self-checkout pilot in a select number of stores. These and certain other strategic initiatives will require us to incur upfront expenses for which, in some respects, there may not be an immediate or acceptable return in terms of sales or enhanced profitability.

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Certain of our operating expenses, such as wage rates and occupancy costs, have continued to increase in recent years, due primarily to market forces. While we expect these increases to persist, certain of our initiatives and plans are intended to help offset these challenges, although there can be no assurance we will be successful in mitigating them.

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Our employees are a competitive advantage, and we proactively seek ways to continue investing in them. Our goal is to create an environment that attracts and retains talented personnel, particularly at the store level, because employees who are promoted from within our company generally have longer tenures and are greater contributors to improvements in our financial performance. We believe our investments in compensation and training for our store managers have contributed to improved customer experience scores, higher sales and improved turnover metrics.

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To further enhance shareholder returns, we repurchased shares of our common stock and paid quarterly cash dividends throughout 2019. In 2020, we intend to continue our share repurchase activity, and to pay quarterly cash dividends, subject to Board discretion and approval.

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We utilize key performance indicators (“KPIs”) in the management of our business. Our KPIs include same-store sales, average sales per square foot, and inventory turnover. Same-store sales are calculated based upon stores that were open at least 13 full fiscal months and remain open at the end of the reporting period. We include stores that have been remodeled, expanded or relocated in our same-store sales calculation. Changes in same-store sales are calculated based on the comparable 52 calendar weeks in the current and prior years. Net sales per square foot is calculated based on total sales for the preceding 12 months as of the ending date of the reporting period divided by the average selling square footage during the period, including the end of the fiscal year, the beginning of the fiscal year, and the end of each of our three interim fiscal quarters. Inventory turnover is calculated based on total cost of goods sold for the preceding four quarters divided by the average inventory balance as of the ending date of the reporting period, including the end of the fiscal year, the beginning of the fiscal year, and the end of each of our three interim fiscal quarters. Each of these measures is commonly used by investors in retail companies to measure the health of the business. We use these measures to maximize profitability and for decisions about the allocation of resources.

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A continued focus on our four operating priorities as discussed above, coupled with strong cash flow management and share repurchases resulted in solid overall operating and financial performance in 2019 as

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compared to 2018, as set forth below. Basis points, as referred to below, are equal to 0.01% as a percentage of net sales.

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Readers should refer to the detailed discussion of our operating results below for additional comments on financial performance in the current year as compared with the prior years presented.

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Results of Operations

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Accounting Periods. The following text contains references to years 2019, 2018, and 2017, which represent fiscal years ended January 31, 2020, February 1, 2019, and February 2, 2018, respectively. Our fiscal year ends on the Friday closest to January 31. Fiscal years 2019, 2018 and 2017 were each 52-week accounting periods.

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Seasonality. The nature of our business is somewhat seasonal. Primarily because of sales of Christmas-related merchandise, operating profit in our fourth quarter (November, December and January) has historically been higher than operating profit achieved in each of the first three quarters of the fiscal year. Expenses, and to a greater extent operating profit, vary by quarter. Results of a period shorter than a full year may not be indicative of results expected for the entire year. Furthermore, the seasonal nature of our business may affect comparisons between periods.

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The following table contains results of operations data for fiscal years 2019, 2018 and 2017, and the dollar and percentage variances among those years.

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Net Sales. The net sales increase in 2019 reflects a same-store sales increase of 3.9% compared to 2018. In 2019, our 15,209 same-stores accounted for sales of $26.4 billion. The increase in same-store sales primarily reflects an increase in average transaction amount and customer traffic compared to 2018. The increase in average transaction amount was driven by higher average item retail prices. Same-store sales in 2019 increased in each of the consumables, seasonal and home products and apparel categories, compared to 2018. The 2019 net sales increase was positively affected by new stores, modestly offset by sales from closed stores.

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The net sales increase in 2018 reflects a same-store sales increase of 3.2% compared to 2017. In 2018, our 14,283 same-stores accounted for sales of $23.9 billion. The increase in same-store sales primarily reflects an increase in average transaction amount relative to 2017. The increase in average transaction amount was driven by higher average item retail prices and to a lesser extent, an increase in average items per transaction, while customer traffic was essentially unchanged. Same-store sales in 2018 increased in the consumables, seasonal and home products categories, and declined in the apparel category, compared to 2017. Same-store sales results in 2018 for the three non-consumables categories, when aggregated, were positive. The 2018 net sales increase was positively affected by new stores, modestly offset by sales from closed stores.

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Of our four major merchandise categories, the consumables category, which generally has a lower gross profit rate than the other three categories, is our largest category and has continued to become a larger percentage

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of our total sales. Because of the impact of sales mix on gross profit, we continually review our merchandise mix and strive to adjust it when appropriate.

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Gross Profit. In 2019, gross profit increased by 8.8%, and as a percentage of net sales increased by 14 basis points to 30.6% compared to 2018. Higher initial markups on inventory purchases and a lower LIFO provision contributed to the increase in the gross profit rate. These factors were partially offset by increased distribution and transportation costs, a greater proportion of sales of consumables, which generally have a lower gross profit rate than our other product categories, and sales of lower margin products comprising a higher proportion of consumables sales, as well as a higher rate of inventory shrinkage.

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In 2018, gross profit increased by 8.1%, and as a percentage of net sales decreased by 32 basis points to 30.5% compared to 2017. Higher markdowns, a greater proportion of sales of consumables, which generally have a lower gross profit rate than our other product categories, and sales of lower margin products comprising a higher proportion of consumables sales, as well as increases in transportation costs and an increased LIFO provision reduced the gross profit rate. These factors were partially offset by an improved rate of inventory shrinkage and higher initial markups on inventory purchases.

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SG&A. SG&A as a percentage of sales was 22.3% in 2019 compared to 22.2% in 2018, an increase of 9 basis points. We recorded expenses of $31.0 million in 2019 reflecting our estimate for the settlement of significant legal matters discussed in Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements. SG&A in 2019 included a decrease of approximately $22.8 million in hurricane and other disaster-related expenses compared to 2018 as well as an increase in retail labor costs at a rate less than the increase in net sales.

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SG&A as a percentage of sales decreased by 1 basis point, rounding to 22.2% in both 2018 and 2017. The 2018 amounts reflect a reduction in repairs and maintenance expenses which were offset by occupancy costs and depreciation expenses, each of which increased at a rate greater than the increase in net sales. The 2018 amounts reflect an increase in hurricane and other disaster-related expenses of approximately $14.3 million compared to 2017. The 2017 amounts include costs of $24.0 million related to the closure of 35 underperforming stores, primarily expenses for remaining lease liabilities.

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Interest Expense. Interest expense increased $0.7 million to $100.6 million in 2019 compared to 2018, and increased $2.8 million to $99.9 million in 2018 compared to 2017. See the detailed discussion under “Liquidity and Capital Resources” regarding the financing of various long-term obligations.

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We had consolidated outstanding variable-rate debt of $430.1 million and $373.3 million as of January 31, 2020 and February 1, 2019, respectively, and the remainder of our outstanding indebtedness as of each of those dates was fixed rate debt.

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Other (income) expense. Other (income) expense in 2018 reflects expenses associated with the voluntary prepayment of our senior unsecured term loan facility, and in 2017 reflects expenses associated with the issuance and refinancing of long-term debt.

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Income Taxes. The effective income tax rate for 2019 was 22.2% compared to a rate of 21.1% for 2018 which represents a net increase of 1.1 percentage points. The effective income tax rate was higher in 2019 primarily due to an increase in income taxes resulting from changes in state income tax laws and a federal income tax benefit arising from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “TCJA”) in 2018 that did not reoccur in 2019.

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The effective income tax rate for 2018 was 21.1% compared to a rate of 19.3% for 2017 which represents a net increase of 1.8 percentage points. The effective income tax rate was higher in 2018 primarily due to the one-time remeasurement of the federal portion of our deferred tax assets and liabilities at 21% in 2017, which was offset by the reduction in the current federal tax rate from 33.7% in 2017 to 21% in 2018.

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Our 2017 provision for income taxes reflected an estimate due to the changes in the federal income tax law arising from the TCJA, signed into law on December 22, 2017. The provisional tax benefit consisted of $310.8 million related to the one-time remeasurement of the federal portion of our deferred tax assets and liabilities at the 21% rate and $24.2 million related to the reduced statutory tax rate of 33.7%, compared to 35% in prior years. Subsequent to the signing of the TCJA, the Securities and Exchange Commission staff issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (“SAB 118”), which allowed companies to record provisional amounts during a measurement period not to extend beyond one year after the enactment date while the accounting impact is still under analysis. In 2018, we concluded our analysis of the accounting impact of the TCJA pursuant to SAB 118 and recorded immaterial adjustments related to our 2017 provision for income taxes.

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Off Balance Sheet Arrangements

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We are not party to any material off balance sheet arrangements.

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Effects of Inflation

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In 2019 and 2018, we experienced increases in product costs due in part to tariffs on certain items imported from China. We experienced minimal overall commodity cost inflation or deflation in 2017.

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Liquidity and Capital Resources

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Current Financial Condition and Recent Developments

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During the past three years, we have generated an aggregate of approximately $6.2 billion in cash flows from operating activities and incurred approximately $2.2 billion in capital expenditures. During that period, we expanded the number of stores we operate by 2,958, representing growth of approximately 22%, and we remodeled or relocated 3,053 stores, or approximately 23% of the stores we operated as of the beginning of the three-year period. In 2020, we intend to continue our current strategy of pursuing store growth, remodels and relocations.

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At January 31, 2020, we had a $1.25 billion unsecured revolving credit agreement (the “Revolving Facility”), $2.5 billion aggregate principal amount of senior notes, and a commercial paper program that may provide borrowing availability of up to $1.0 billion. At January 31, 2020, we had total consolidated outstanding debt (including the current portion of long-term obligations) of $2.9 billion, which includes commercial paper borrowings (“CP Notes”) and senior notes, all of which are described in greater detail below. Our borrowing availability under the Revolving Facility may be effectively limited by our CP Notes as further described below. The information contained in Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements contained in Part II, Item 8 of this report is incorporated herein by reference.

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We believe our cash flow from operations, and our existing cash balances, combined with availability under the Revolving Facility, CP Notes and access to the debt markets, will provide sufficient liquidity to fund our current obligations, projected working capital requirements, capital spending and anticipated dividend payments for a period that includes the next twelve months as well as the next several years. However, our ability to maintain sufficient liquidity may be affected by numerous factors, many of which are outside of our control. Depending on our liquidity levels, conditions in the capital markets and other factors, we may from time to time consider the issuance of debt, equity or other securities, the proceeds of which could provide additional liquidity for our operations.

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For fiscal 2020, we anticipate potential combined borrowings under the Revolving Facility and CP Notes to be a maximum of approximately $800 million outstanding at any one time, including any anticipated borrowings to fund repurchases of common stock.

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Revolving Credit Facility

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On September 10, 2019, we entered into the Revolving Facility consisting of a $1.25 billion senior unsecured revolving credit facility of which up to $175.0 million is available for the issuance of letters of credit and which is scheduled to mature on September 10, 2024.

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Borrowings under the Revolving Facility bear interest at a rate equal to an applicable interest rate margin plus, at our option, either (a) LIBOR or (b) a base rate (which is usually equal to the prime rate). The applicable interest rate margin for borrowings as of January 31, 2020 was 1.015% for LIBOR borrowings and 0.015% for base-rate borrowings. We must also pay a facility fee, payable on any used and unused commitment amounts of the Revolving Facility, and customary fees on letters of credit issued under the Revolving Facility. As of January 31, 2020, the facility fee rate was 0.11%. The applicable interest rate margins for borrowings, the facility fees and the letter of credit fees under the Revolving Facility are subject to adjustment from time to time based on our long-term senior unsecured debt ratings.

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The Revolving Facility contains a number of customary affirmative and negative covenants that, among other things, restrict, subject to certain exceptions, our (including our subsidiaries’) ability to: incur additional liens; sell all or substantially all of our assets; consummate certain fundamental changes or change in our lines of business; and incur additional subsidiary indebtedness. The Revolving Facility also contains financial covenants that require the maintenance of a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio and a maximum leverage ratio. As of January 31, 2020, we were in compliance with all such covenants. The Revolving Facility also contains customary events of default.

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As of January 31, 2020, under the Revolving Facility, we had no outstanding borrowings, outstanding letters of credit of $5.4 million, and borrowing availability of $1.24 billion that, due to our intention to maintain borrowing availability related to the commercial paper program described below, could contribute incremental liquidity of $638.4 million at January 31, 2020. In addition, as of January 31, 2020 we had outstanding letters of credit of $41.4 million which were issued pursuant to separate agreements.

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Commercial Paper

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As of January 31, 2020, our consolidated balance sheet reflected outstanding unsecured CP Notes of $425.2 million classified as long-term obligations due to our intent and ability to refinance these obligations as long-term debt. An additional $181.0 million of outstanding CP Notes were held by a wholly-owned subsidiary and are therefore not reflected on the consolidated balance sheet. Under this program, we may issue the CP Notes from time to time in an aggregate amount not to exceed $1.0 billion outstanding at any time. The CP Notes may have maturities of up to 364 days from the date of issue and rank equal in right of payment with all of our other unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness. We intend to maintain available commitments under the Revolving Facility in an amount at least equal to the amount of CP Notes outstanding at any time. As of January 31, 2020, the consolidated outstanding CP Notes had a weighted average borrowing rate of 1.7%.

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Senior Notes

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In April 2013 we issued $900.0 million aggregate principal amount of 3.25% senior notes due 2023 (the “2023 Senior Notes”) at a discount of $2.4 million, which are scheduled to mature on April 15, 2023. In October 2015 we issued $500.0 million aggregate principal amount of 4.150% senior notes due 2025 (the “2025 Senior Notes”) at a discount of $0.8 million, which are scheduled to mature on November 1, 2025. In April 2017 we issued $600.0 million aggregate principal amount of 3.875% senior notes due 2027 (the “2027 Senior Notes”) at a discount of $0.4 million, which are scheduled to mature on April 15, 2027. In April 2018 we issued $500.0 million aggregate principal amount of 4.125% senior notes due 2028 (the “2028 Senior Notes”) at a discount of $0.5 million, which are scheduled to mature on May 1, 2028. Collectively, the 2023 Senior Notes, 2025 Senior Notes, 2027 Senior Notes and 2028 Senior Notes comprise the “Senior Notes”, each of which were issued pursuant to an indenture as supplemented and amended by supplemental indentures relating to each series of Senior Notes (as so

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supplemented and amended, the “Senior Indenture”). Interest on the 2023 Senior Notes and the 2027 Senior Notes is payable in cash on April 15 and October 15 of each year. Interest on the 2025 and 2028 Senior Notes is payable in cash on May 1 and November 1 of each year.

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We may redeem some or all of the Senior Notes at any time at redemption prices set forth in the Senior Indenture. Upon the occurrence of a change of control triggering event, which is defined in the Senior Indenture, each holder of our Senior Notes has the right to require us to repurchase some or all of such holder’s Senior Notes at a purchase price in cash equal to 101% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the repurchase date.

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The Senior Indenture contains covenants limiting, among other things, our ability (subject to certain exceptions) to consolidate, merge, or sell or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets; and our ability and the ability of our subsidiaries to incur or guarantee indebtedness secured by liens on any shares of voting stock of significant subsidiaries.

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The Senior Indenture also provides for events of default which, if any of them occurs, would permit or require the principal of and accrued interest on our Senior Notes to become or to be declared due and payable, as applicable.

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Rating Agencies

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Our senior unsecured debt is rated “Baa2,” by Moody’s with a stable outlook and “BBB” by Standard & Poor’s with a stable outlook, and our commercial paper program is rated “P-2” by Moody’s and “A-2” by Standard and Poor’s. Our current credit ratings, as well as future rating agency actions, could (i) impact our ability to finance our operations on satisfactory terms; (ii) affect our financing costs; and (iii) affect our insurance premiums and collateral requirements necessary for our self-insured programs. There can be no assurance that we will maintain or improve our current credit ratings.

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Contractual Obligations

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The following table summarizes our significant contractual obligations and commercial commitments as of January 31, 2020 (in thousands):

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