Even dollar stores are getting slammed by the retail theft crisis.
Dollar General’s shares tanked Thursday after the discounter provided a bleak outlook for the rest of the year because of rising thefts and weak consumer demand at its 19,000 stores nationwide.
The Tennessee-based company warned Wall Street that profits may plunge by as much as 34% compared to its previous forecast for an 8% decline to flat growth as cut its full-year profit and sales targets for the second time this year.
“Our revised guide is really a function of the slower transactions that we’re seeing, and higher expected shrink,” Dollar General CFO Kelly Dilts said on a call with analysts after the company reported quarterly earnings that fell short of Wall Street estimates.
The reference to “shrink” — an industry term for stolen or damaged goods — follows a troubling trend cited by other major retailers who have blamed the scourge of organized retail theft for impacting their bottom line.
Target has said it expects to lose $500 million because of theft at its stores.
Dollar Tree said in May that it would need to raise prices in some regions because of persistent shoplifting.
Dollar General’s gross profit as a percentage of net sales fell 126 basis points in the quarter as retail shrink worsened. It flagged $100 million in additional shrink headwinds since its last earnings call in June.
CEO Jeff Owen did not elaborate on the extent of the theft, instead pointing to still-stubborn inflation for shoppers feeling “financially constrained.”
“Dollar General’s core customers are feeling the acute pressure of the cost-of-living-crisis,” echoed Neil Saunders, retail analyst and managing director at GlobalData, in a report Thursday.
Dollar General lowered its same store sales guidance to a decline of about 1% and 1% increase compared to its previous forecast of a 1% to 2% increase.
The company’s comparable sales dropped by 1% in the second quarter ended Aug. 4 and the company expects a pileup of inventory to be a drag on its earnings for the rest of the year as it slashes prices on items that haven’t been selling.
The quarter “marks the fourth consecutive guide down for Dollar General, which admittedly creates further uncertainty if we are hitting the bottom yet,” said Raymond James analyst Bobby Griffin.
The stock nosedived down more than 12% Thursday to close at $138.59.
It has tracked a nearly three-and-a-half-year low, slumping as much as 18.2% to hit $128.96 — making it one of the worst performers on the S&P 500 index this year.
As inflation continued to batter shoppers this year, more customers flocked to Dollar General and its rival Dollar Tree among other big discounters.
But food and other essential items are less profitable for those stores as profit margins on food are anemic.
“While we are not satisfied with our overall financial results, we made significant progress in the second quarter improving execution in our supply chain and our stores, as well as reducing our inventory growth rate and further strengthening our price position,” Owen said in a statement.
With Post wires
This story originally appeared on NYPost
