Ross Stores Expands With 19 New Locations

While many retailers are shutting doors, Ross Stores has opened some. The discount chain added 19 locations so far this month.

To expand its footprint, there are 16 new Ross Dress for Less stores and three dd’s Discounts stores ready for customers. The new locations are spread across 14 states.

Per Ross Stores’ Executive Vice President of Property Development Richard Lietz, the new Ross locations are in primarily in new regions where the company has little or no presence, specifically Connecticut, Minnesota, New York, and New Jersey. Meanwhile, the dd’s stores opened in existing markets in Texas, California, and Georgia.

“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,” said Lietz, per FOX Business.

With March’s store additions, Ross stores number about 1,847, with dd’s Discounts coming in around 360. Overall, in fiscal year 2025, the retail chain plans to launch 80 Ross stores and 10 dd’s locations, which include the newest openings. In comparison, Ross opened 75 flagship stores and 14 dd’s last year.

Ross Stores Anticipates Slow Sales Growth in 2025

Even though Ross is on track to expand its store footprint, the company is not overly optimistic about the future. In its most recent earnings report, Ross predicted comparable sales will remain flat or possibly drop as much as 3% during the first quarter of 2025. For the entire year, sales will either range between a negative 1% or a positive 2%.

“While there are always opportunities for us to improve our execution, we believe the softness we are currently seeing is primarily due to macro pressures, impacting consumer confidence, resulting in a pullback in discretionary spending,” said Ross Stores CEO Jim Conroy during a conference call, per TheStreet.

While Ross Stores is aggressively opening locations, other major retailers are busy closing up shop. With employee cost and higher prices for inventory, many long-time retailers can no longer make a profit, forcing them to cut back.

Last month, Kohl’s announced the closure of 27 “underperforming” stores, all of which will take place this year. An e-commerce fulfilment center in California will also be shut down. Car parts retailer Advance Auto will be closing hundreds of stores in the coming months.