GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn. — James Thorpe has rejoined Dollar General Corp. as executive vice president and chief merchandising officer.

The dollar store chain said Friday that Thorpe succeeds David D’Arezzo, who left the company on Aug. 6.

Thorpe had retired from Dollar General in 2012 after serving as senior vice president and general merchandising manager for six years. Following his retirement from Dollar General, Thorpe was president of JW Thorpe & Associates Inc.

“Jim is an accomplished merchant who has a strong understanding of our core customer and a passion for our business. Given his proven track record, we are excited for him to return to Dollar General,” Todd Vasos, chief executive officer of Dollar General, said in a statement. “The addition of Jim helps strengthen our leadership team so that we can focus on capturing growth opportunities at an accelerated pace.”

Before joining Dollar General in 2006, Thorpe worked at Sears Holdings Corp. from 1991 to 2006, attaining the position of vice president and general merchandise manager, hard home, at Sears Home Group. Previously, he was a marketing program manager for Zenith Data Systems. He began his career in 1981 at Maxima Corp., where he held various project administration and analyst positions.

Vasos added, “I would like to thank Dave for his contributions to Dollar General over the last 20 months. I wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

Overall, Dollar General operates 12,198 small-box discount retail stores in 43 states.