Ross opens 19 stores in March

The retailer opened 16 Ross Dress for Less and three DD’s Discounts locations on a path to 90 new stores this year.

Dive Brief:

• Ross Stores has opened three DD’s Discounts stores and 16 Ross Dress for Less locations across 14 states this month, the off-price retailer announced Monday.
• Ross expanded its presence in the newer markets of Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York, while DD’s focused on the existing markets of California, Georgia and Texas.
• The company plans to open 90 new stores during fiscal year 2025, including 80 Ross locations and 10 DD’s Discounts stores.

Ross’ store-opening spree is continuing full speed ahead.

“We now operate a total of 2,205 Ross Dress for Less and DD’s Discounts locations across 44 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam,” Richard Lietz, executive vice president of property development, said in a statement. “As we look out over the long term, we remain confident that Ross can grow to 2,900 locations and DD’s Discounts can become a chain of 700 stores given consumers’ ongoing focus on value and convenience.”

As the company plots its brick-and-mortar expansion, it has also reshaped its leadership team in recent months. In September, the company promoted Karen Fleming to become the chief merchandising officer for Ross Dress for Less, and Karen Sykes was named chief merchandising officer of DD’s Discounts. The following month, James Conroy was named the company’s next chief executive, but former CEO Barbara Rentler is set to stay on at the company in an advisory position until March 2027.

C-suite changes will continue into 2025. Last month, the company announced that Chief Financial Officer Adam Orvos will retire from the company on Sept. 30. William Sheehan, formerly the company’s group senior vice president of finance, will replace Orvos on Oct. 1. Until then, Sheehan has been promoted to deputy chief financial officer.

Source: Retail Dive