Dollar Tree Taps Walmart Vet for CFO as it Prepares for Discount Hit on Margins

Dollar Tree has hired Walmart veteran Jeffrey Davis as its new CFO. He joins the off-price retailer as it comes off a strong quarter but prepares for a challenging second half of 2022, as Family Dollar stores accelerate discounts to help compete against other retailers who have been dropping their own prices.

Davis was with Walmart from 2006 to 2018 in a number of financial leadership roles, including Treasurer, SVP of Finance and Strategy and CFO of Walmart U.S. His most recent position was as CFO of Qurate Retail Group. Davis also has held the CFO role at JCPenney and Darden Restaurants.

“I am extremely pleased to announce that Jeff Davis will be joining the Dollar Tree team as our new CFO,” said Mike Witynski, President and CEO of Dollar Tree in a statement. “For many years, Jeff has been recognized as a strong and collaborative retail business partner, driving superior financial and operational results. Jeff has a proven track record of strategic leadership and building and developing talented teams. I believe his skill set and experiences are the perfect fit for Dollar Tree as we continue to fill key executive roles and execute on the transformation of our company.”

That transformation includes continuing to better position Family Dollar against the competition with lower pricing. The retailer has seen similar trends as Walmart, with shoppers reducing their discretionary spending in favor of necessary CPGs. This has enabled Dollar Tree’s private label brands to outcompete national brands in its stores, but the combination of competitive pricing and increased CPG sales will pressure margins in the back half of the year.

“We are confident these pricing and other investments will generate very attractive returns over the long term,” said Witynski.

Dollar Tree’s other investments will include “continuing to enhance our culture, elevated store standards, better use of private brands, improved category adjacencies, enhancing our product mix, optimizing our vendor partnerships and many, many more,” according to Witynski on an earnings call with investors.

For Q2 2022, the retailer reported 7.5% same-store sales growth at Dollar Tree and 2% same-store sales growth at Family Dollar. Net sales at both banners rose 6.7% to nearly $6.8 billion.