Dollar Tree (DLTR 2.60%) announced on Monday that CEO Gary Philbin is retiring after three years at the helm. Philbin will remain with the dollar-store chain as an executive and a board member until Sept. 23 to help with the transition.
The retailer also announced that it has elevated Michael Witynski to the position of president and CEO after being appointed as enterprise president last year.
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Time to get it right
Philbin joined Dollar Tree in 2001 as senior vice president of stores and climbed through various jobs until he was appointed president and CEO in 2017.
Witnyski followed a similar career path, also joining the company as senior vice president of stores in 2010 before being promoted to president and chief operating officer in 2017.
Executive chairman Bob Sasser, who was CEO until Philbin's appointment, said Witnyski "helped put in place a broad range of operational and talent initiatives to position our Company for an even more successful future, as witnessed by the recent successes at Family Dollar."
The deep-discount retailer has struggled to assimilate Family Dollar into its business following its acquisition in 2015. Having beaten out rival Dollar General (DG 2.73%) in a bidding war and agreeing to pay $8.5 billion for what was an ailing business back then, Dollar Tree saw its own performance dragged down afterward.
Family Dollar seemed to find its groove again last year, but even during the pandemic, a time that plays to the strengths of the dollar stores, Dollar Tree's performance has lagged far behind that of Dollar General, with its stock rising just 5% over the last six months while its rival is up over 40%.
Dollar Tree operates over 15,300 stores in North America under its various brands.
