Dollar Gen. founder Turner, 85

Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 11/20/2000 12:00:00 AM

SCOTTSVILLE, KY -Dollar General founder Cal Turner Sr. died last week at age 85.

He got an early start in the retail business, accompanying his father J.L. Turner during the Depression on trips to buy and liquidate bankrupt general stores. By the time he was 11, he was actively helping out in the enterprise, and when he was 20, he and his father became partners in a wholesaling operation.

By 1955, the operation had converted to retail, and Turner decided to convert the store to a format under which every day was a "dollar day" sales event. The concept proved to be a good one, and the company grew steadily thereafter.

Today, Dollar General operates more than 4,800 stores in 25 states and records annual sales of more than $3.9 billion. Turner's son, Cal Turner Jr., succeeded him as president in 1977, while the senior Turner took the title of chairman, a position from which he retired in 1989.