Ross Stores has opened 28 Ross Dress for Less and 12 dd’s DISCOUNTS locations across 21 states during September and October, meeting its forecasted growth of opening nearly 100 stores during FY 2022, which ends Jan. 28, 2023. The recent openings bring Ross’ store totals to 2,019 Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS locations in 40 states, the District of Columbia and Guam.
“This fall, we opened our 2,000th store and continued to expand Ross and dd’s footprints across our existing markets as well as in our newer states,” said Gregg McGillis, Group EVP of Property Development at Ross Stores in a statement. “In addition to openings in California, Florida and Texas, Ross strengthened its presence in Ohio while dd’s bolstered its store base in Illinois. Looking ahead, we remain confident in our expansion plans and continue to see plenty of opportunity to grow to at least 2,900 Ross Dress for Less and 700 dd’s DISCOUNTS locations over time.”
Ross Stores reported a disappointing performance at the beginning of the year, with the company’s sales declining from $4.5 billion in Q1 2021 to $4.3 billion in Q1 2022, which prompted the retailer to revise its forecast for the remainder of the year. Q2 2022 sales also dropped compared to the same period the previous year, from $4.8 billion to $4.6 billion.
Despite these drops, Wells Fargo upgraded the retailer’s stock on Oct. 25, raising the short-term price target to $110 per share from $90 per share. The reason? Analysts predict the off-price retailer will perform well into 2023 as consumers continue to reduce their spending due to inflation, according to NASDAQ.
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Many discount and off-price retailers are investing in store openings, with off-price retailer Burlington remaining committed to opening 90 net new stores during FY 2022, which ends Jan. 28, 2023. During Q2 2022, Dollar General opened 227 new stores, remodeled 533 locations and relocated 30 shops as part of its expansion plan.
