Dollar General says sales in Q4 were impacted by severe winter weather

The company says "Sales in the fourth quarter were impacted by severe winter weather, including many days with significant store closures, an aggressive competitive retail landscape and our customers’ uncertainty about spending in the current economic environment. In spite of these headwinds, both customer traffic and average ticket increased in our same-stores in the fourth quarter. In addition, we controlled our expenses well and successfully managed the business to deliver a gross margin rate that was better than we anticipated. Although some of the severe weather impact has continued into the first quarter, we are pleased with our sales performance on days when weather is more normalized."