Dive Brief:

• Discount retailer Dollar General said Friday that its chairman and CEO, Rick Dreiling will retire effective May 30 next year, or sooner if a successor is found.

• Dreiling has been CEO since January 2008 and chairman of the board since December that year.

• During his tenure, the retailer has seen remarkable growth. Annual sales have risen 80% to $17.5 billion in 2013 and the number of stores grew 38%. There are more than 11,000 Dollar General stores in 40 states.

Dive Insight:

In six years, Rick Dreiling has helped Dollar General with steady growth. Activist investor Carl Icahn has been pushing pretty hard for Dollar General to take over its rival discount retailer Family Dollar. But Dreiling's impending departure will mean a major transition, which observers say makes the notion of a merger with Family Dollar far less likely.