Off-price retail rival sees major shift after Big Lots bankruptcy

Finding the cleanable thing astatine the cleanable terms is 1 of my favourite pastimes, and I’m not alone. Customers are flocking to off-price stores similar TJMaxx, HomeGoods, and Ollie’s Bargain Outlet arsenic layoffs equine and shoppers tighten their budgets.

Foot postulation to these retail stores has surged successful 2025, helping thrust income higher amid a displacement distant from full-price section stores, specified arsenic Macy’s and bigger stores similar Target.

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet has peculiarly benefited acknowledgment to its determination to capitalize connected the bankruptcy of 1 of its largest rivals, Big Lots.

• Founded: 1982, Mechanicsburg, PA

• Store count: 645

• Employees: 12,792
  Source: Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings

Big Lots' nonaccomplishment and Chapter 11 bankruptcy allowed Ollie's to get a slate of its storefronts. Big Lots closures besides reduced contention astatine 290 of its 645 stores.

Alongside involvement successful a “treasure hunt” buying acquisition and stretched budgets, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet finds itself successful a premier presumption to triumph customers implicit the holidays and into 2026.

Ollie's Bargain Outlet was founded by Mark Butler, Morton Bernstein, Harry Coverman, and Oliver "Ollie" Rosenberg astatine Bernstein's lumber gait successful Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, successful 1982. After visiting a Building 19 determination successful Massachusetts, Butler started the institution based connected a elemental premise that everyone successful America loves a bargain.

Ollie's stores are stocked with closeout and overstock items purchased astatine a discount and sold to customers astatine little prices than those recovered successful section stores. It aims for a 40% gross margin. If it tin deed that people and importantly undercut prices astatine full-price stores, it volition merchantability conscionable astir anything, including soap, food, toys, housewares, apparel, and electronics.

The company, known for its quirky, comic-book-style marketing, has been deliberate astir its growth, dilatory but consistently opening locations. It focused connected Pennsylvania stores earlier entering Maryland successful the 1990s. Despite Rosenberg's passing successful 1996, the institution steadily expanded its store number nether Butler's leadership, reaching 20 locations by precocious 2000 and 36 stores by 2005, which lifted gross to $150 cardinal that year.

• 2025: 645 locations
  Source: Ollie's FAQ

• 2020:388 locations
  Source: Ollie's 2020 10-K SEC filing

• 2015:203 locations
  Source: Ollie's 2015 10-K

• 2011:100 locations
  Source: Times Herald-Record

• 2005: 36 locations
  Source: Citizens Voice

To proviso its increasing footprint, it consolidated its organisation astatine a ample halfway successful York, Pennsylvania, successful 2008. A 2nd organisation halfway was opened successful 2014 successful Georgia, 1 twelvemonth earlier Ollie's archetypal nationalist offering connected the banal market.