8-K

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                             ----------------------


                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT

                     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                         Securities Exchange Act of 1934


          Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): May 9, 2002


                           Dollar General Corporation
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
               (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)



          Tennessee                     001-11421               61-0502302
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 (State or Other Jurisdiction    (Commission File Number)     (I.R.S. Employer
      of Incorporation)                                      Identification No.)



        100 Mission Ridge
    Goodlettsville, Tennessee                                       37072
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)                          (Zip Code)

       Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (615) 855-4000
                                                           --------------


          (Former name or former address, if changed since last report)





ITEM 5.  OTHER EVENTS

On May 9, 2002, Dollar General Corporation (the "Company") issued a news release
with respect to April sales results for the four-week period ending May 3, 2002,
and to the May sales  outlook.  The Company is filing  this 8-K  pursuant to the
Securities and Exchange  Commission's  Regulation FD. A copy of the news release
is attached hereto and is incorporated by reference as Exhibit 99.1.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant  to the  requirements  of the  Securities  Exchange  Act of  1934,  the
Registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.


                                        Dollar General Corporation
                                        (Registrant)

                                        By:      /s/ Renee M. H. Yuen
May 9, 2002                                      -------------------------------
                                                 Renee M.H. Yuen
                                                 Assistant Secretary


Exhibit Index

Exhibit No.                Item

99.1                       News release of May 9, 2002

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1


Investor Contact:                                                 Media Contact:
(615) 855-5525                                                    (615) 855-5209


DOLLAR GENERAL REPORTS INCREASED APRIL SALES

GOODLETTSVILLE,  Tenn. - May 9, 2002 - Dollar  General  Corporation  (NYSE:  DG)
today  reported  total retail sales for the four-week  period ended May 3, 2002,
equaled  $427.2  million  compared with $373.5 million last year, an increase of
14.4  percent.  Same-store  sales for the April  period  increased  5.5  percent
compared with a 9.2 percent  increase in the April period of 2001. The estimated
average  customer  purchase in April was $8.30,  an  increase of 0.9%.  Customer
transactions in same-stores are estimated to have increased 5%.

For the 13 weeks ended May 3, 2002,  Dollar General total retail sales increased
15.6  percent to $1.4  billion  from $1.2 billion in the same period a year ago.
Same-store sales for the 13-week period increased 6.7 percent.

April Sales by Major Category (Unaudited):

                             2002                2001            Same-Store
                        Percent of Sales   Percent of Sales     Sales Change
                        ----------------   ----------------     ------------

  Highly Consumable           60%                58%                + 9%
  Home Products               14%                15%                - 1%
  Basic Clothing              11%                11%                - 1%
  Hardware and Seasonal       15%                16%                + 3%

Dollar General is scheduled to announce earnings for the first quarter ended May
3, 2002, on Thursday,  May 30, 2002. The Company will host a conference  call on
Thursday,  May 30, 2002,  at 5 p.m. EDT to discuss the  quarter's  results.  The
passcode  for  the  conference  call  is  "Dollar   General."  If  you  wish  to
participate,  please  call  (630)  395-0020  at  least  10  minutes  before  the
conference  call is  scheduled to begin.  The call will also be  broadcast  live
online at www.dollargeneral.com.

May Sales Outlook:
For the four-week period ending May 31, 2002, the Company expects total sales to
increase  14-16 percent.  Same-store  sales are expected to increase 5-7 percent
compared with a same-store  sales increase of 8.3 percent in the May period last
year. May sales results will be released on Thursday, June 6, 2002.

Weekly sales trends are  announced on Mondays after the market closes and can be
attained online at www.dollargeneral.com or by calling (615) 855-5529.

This press release  contains  historical and  forward-looking  information.  The
words  "believe,"   "anticipate,"   "project,"  "plan,"  "expect,"   "estimate,"
"objective,"  "forecast,"  "goal,"  "intend,"  "will  likely  result," or " will
continue" and similar  expressions  identify  forward  looking  statements.  The
forward-looking  statements  are made pursuant to the safe harbor  provisions of
the Private  Securities  Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company believes the
assumptions underlying these forward-looking statements are reasonable; however,
any of the assumptions  could be inaccurate,  and therefore,  actual results may
differ materially from those projected in the  forward-looking  statements.  The
factors that may result in actual results  differing  from such  forward-looking
information  include,  but are not limited to: the Company's ability to maintain
adequate liquidity through its cash resources and credit  facilities,  including
its ability to refinance or replace such  facilities  on favorable  terms at the
maturity  thereof;  the  Company's  ability  to  comply  with  the  terms of the
Company's  credit  facilities  (or obtain waivers for  non-compliance);  general
transportation and distribution delays or interruptions;  inventory risks due to
shifts in market  demand;  changes in product mix;  interruptions  in suppliers'
businesses;  fuel price and  interest  rate  fluctuations;  a  deterioration  in
general  economic  conditions  caused  by  acts of war or  terrorism;  temporary
changes in demand due to weather  patterns;  delays  associated  with  building,
opening and operating new stores;  the results of the Company's  restatement and
audit  process;  and the impact of the  litigation  and  regulatory  proceedings
related to the restatement of the Company's financial statements,  including the
funding of the settlement of such litigation and the risk that the conditions to
the effectiveness of such settlements,  including the results of the plaintiffs'
confirmatory discovery and the approval by the courts, may not be realized.

Readers  are  cautioned  not to place undue  reliance  on these  forward-looking
statements,  which  speak  only  as of the  date of this  release.  The  Company
undertakes  no  obligation  to  publicly  update or revise  any  forward-looking
statements  contained herein to reflect events or circumstances  occurring after
the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.