Dollar Tree, which underwent a massive C-suite shakeup last summer, now has a new CEO, the discounter said on Jan. 24. Mike Witynski, a Dollar Tree executive since 2010 and the retailer’s CEO since 2020, is leaving the Chesapeake, Virginia-based company. Dollar Tree Executive Chairman Rick Dreiling will take over as CEO effective, Jan. 29.
The company did not say what Witynski intends to do after leaving Dollar Tree. He joined the company in August 2010 as senior vice president of stores before serving as COO and, later, as president and COO. In July 2020, he was named the dollar store chain’s president and CEO.
“The opportunity to work with the talented and dedicated team at Dollar Tree has been the most rewarding of my career,” Witynski said. “During this especially dynamic period, we made the historic and consequential move to ‘break the dollar,’ and also rose to the historic opportunity to retool the company’s leadership ranks to face the challenges ahead with fresh eyes. As I depart, I have full confidence that this team will continue to move the company forward through the years ahead.”
He is referring, of course, to Dollar Tree’s decision in November 2021 to raise most of its prices a quarter, to $1.25, systemwide. Witynski was with the company in 2014, when Dollar Tree announced it would buy Family Dollar for $8.5 billion.
“We greatly appreciate Mike’s contribution over his career with Dollar Tree, which included the acquisition and integration of Family Dollar, navigating COVID and contributing to the company’s current transformation strategy,” Dreiling said. “Dollar Tree will continue to thrive, grow and win in the marketplace in this next chapter, and I’m thrilled for the opportunity to work with the extraordinary Dollar Tree team to advance our focus on delighting customers, associates and other key stakeholders.”
Dreiling, former chairman and CEO of Dollar General, was named executive chairman of Dollar Tree’s board last March, just a few months before the company’s COO, CIO, chief legal officer and chief strategy officer left the company. CFO Kevin Wampler said at the time he would leave his post once a successor was named.
In July, Bobby Aflatooni was added as Dollar Tree’s CIO, replacing Andy Paisley, who exited the company during the shake-up. In September, the company announced the hiring of Pedro Voyer as chief development officer, just days after naming Michael Creedon Jr. as chief operating officer. In November, the retailer added several people to leadership posts, including Jennifer Bohaty as chief compliance officer, Terence Goods as chief diversity officer, Jennifer Silberman as chief sustainability officer and Kristin Tetreault as chief communications officer.
Meanwhile, with customers seeking relief from high grocery prices, Dollar Tree has been steadily growing its grocery offerings.
The company reported in November that consumables sales outpaced discretionary sales at Dollar Tree for the second quarter, with a 9.3% comparable in food and beverage, snacks and cookies and candy, outpacing the retailer’s overall same-store sales growth of 8.6%. Sales of food and beverages grew 4.7% at Family Dollar, while Dollar Tree’s overall same-store sales rose 4.1% during the period.
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