Jan 24 (Reuters) - Dollar Tree Inc said on
Tuesday Executive Chairman Richard Dreiling will replace Chief
Executive Officer Mike Witynski, nearly a year after agreeing to
revamp its board in a settlement with activist investor Mantle
Ridge.
Dreiling, 69, who has previously served as chairman and CEO
of rival Dollar General, was appointed to Dollar Tree's
board as part of the settlement in March 2022. He will take on
the role of top boss at the company effective Jan. 29.
In late 2021, Mantle Ridge pushed for a review of Dollar
Tree's business strategy and Dreiling as the top boss at the
discount retailer along with an overhaul of its board.
Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joseph Feldman said investors
would like to see Dreiling have a more "day-to-day hands on role
at Dollar Tree" in hopes of improving the performance of the
business, given his history of success at Dollar General.
Last year, Dollar Tree lowered its annual profit forecast
for the second time as price cuts to attract inflation-wary
shoppers pressured its margins.
But the price cuts at Family Dollar, rolled out in the
second quarter, helped the banner post the strongest quarterly
same-store sales jump since 2020 and grow traffic for the first
time in three years.
With Dreiling at the helm, Feldman expects continued
improvement in the Family Dollar business.
In June 2022, months after the settlement, Dollar Tree
announced the exit of finance chief Kevin Wampler and some other
top executives.
Jeffrey Davis was named successor to Wampler, who is with
the company as an adviser till April 2023.
Witynski was appointed as the CEO in July 2020 to succeed
Gary Philbin, who retired after serving in the role for nearly
three years.
Shares of Dollar Tree rose about 1% in early trade.
(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by
Shinjini Ganguli)