Bargains galore: Ollie’s pushes retailing growth to 457 stores (2024)

“It was a challenge from every aspect you could think of,” he said.

In December 2019, co-founder and longtime Ollie’s CEO Mark Butler died unexpectedly at the age of 61. Butler was one of four founders of the company along with Mort Bernstein, Harry Coverman, and Oliver “Ollie” Rosenberg.

Within months of Butler’s passing, the COVID-19 pandemic had spread into the United States.

But Ollie’s has weathered the storm, including staffing shortages and supply chain issues that have impacted everything from what appears in its newspaper inserts to delays in new store openings. In 2003, Butler took the helm of Ollie’s Bargain Outlet with 27 stores in three states. Currently, the company has more than 450 stores in 29 states.

Pennlive.comMark Butler, Ollie’s former president and CEO, looks at the wedding dresses being offered in a sale on Feb. 7, 2019.

This year alone, Ollie’s is expected to open between 41 and 43 stores. Last year, the company opened 46 new stores. Next year, if everything goes well, it is hoping to open 50. And there are no signs of slowing down, with the ultimate goal being to have one store opening a week on average until it hits a total of 1,050 stores. Swygert thinks that final number could go even higher.

In other words, the retailer has come along way since first opening on the Carlisle Pike in Hampden Township in 1982. Ollie’s corporate office — aka the “store support center” — is located behind its store on Allentown Boulevard in Lower Paxton Township. A sign in the lobby two weeks ago noted that the company had 455 stores in 29 states. They’ve since opened two more stores since then.

And all of this growth also comes despite the chain’s reluctance to enter the e-commerce market. Ollie’s has a social media presence, but it doesn’t sell any of its merchandise online.

Distribution

Ollie’s has distribution centers in the Atlanta and Dallas areas, as well as one in East Manchester Township, York County. The three warehouses now have the capacity to serve about 550 stores.

And the company is planning to expand its York County warehouse by 200,000 square feet. The warehouse will be well over 800,000 square feet when the expansion is completed, and will employ another 50-75 people, in addition to the 200 who work there now.

Ollie’s is also planning to build a fourth distribution center, which will be located in the Midwest. Once that warehouse is in operation, Ollie’s will have the capacity to service more than 700 stores. The company has not announced the specific location for the new warehouse.

Remodeling

As if that weren’t enough, for the first time ever, Ollie’s, which currently employs around 10,000 people, is remodeling some of its stores. On average, a store remodel costs about $125,000. Ollie’s expects to remodel 30 stores by the end of the year.

The Ollie’s store on Allentown Boulevard, which has been at its current location since 1984, is planned for a remodel next year.

Swygert said the remodels will focus on presentation, and improve the flow of the store and the customer shopping experience. Register queues will be added with impulse items so that customers can continue to shop while they’re in line.

Expansion

Ollie’s expansion plans for the year will be less than what officials hoped for, but it’s not because they don’t have the locations. The company actually has 50 leases signed for 2022, but seven to nine of the openings are being delayed until 2023.

Earlier in the pandemic, store openings were slowed by permitting delays, but now Swygert said the problem is actually delays in getting the HVAC equipment and parts needed for the stores.

“New store development during COVID has been challenging and still continues [to be so] this year,” he said.

What about looking beyond the U.S. borders? Swygert said the company won’t consider international expansion until Ollie’s has about twice as many stores as it does now, adding there is plenty of room left in the United States.

“We don’t want to be as saturated as some other retailers are, and we don’t think we need to be,” he said.

He doesn’t rule it out eventually though.

“I do think this model would resonate anywhere in the world but you have to figure out how to execute it properly,” he said.

Going forward, Ollie’s plans to open 50-55 stores per year, continue to invest in the supply chain infrastructure, grow state by state, invest in a fourth distribution center in the Midwest, and ultimately move towards the West Coast, which could take another 10 to 15 years out, Swygert said.

Ollie’s expansion doesn’t stop with its store and distribution centers. More store growth means more store support. In 2019, the company took over the former Just Cabinets space on Allentown Boulevard and added a second floor in order to add 30,000 square feet of space to its corporate center.