Ollie's Bargain Outlet is coming to Duluth.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based Ollie's Bargain Outlet in entering the metro Atlanta market with a store in Duluth. The Duluth store, located at 3840 Venture Drive, is located within Venture Pointe shopping center, anchored by the relatively new Studio Movie Grill and American Signature Furniture.
Studio Movie Grill opened its Duluth theater in November 2012, reworking a former Circuit City store.
If memory serves, the Ollie's space as well as the adjacent Anna's Linens space, were once a single space and home to defunct retailer Media Play.
Ollie's plans to open its Duluth store March 19th and will that same day open stores in Newnan, Carrollton and Rome. Sources say additional stores are planned for the metro area around May. I'd speculate that Ollie's may be targeting areas like Snellville, Kennesaw, Marietta or Chamblee for future growth. Ollie's targets "B" and "C" level real estate to keep costs down.
Mark Butler, Mort Bernstein, Oliver “Ollie” Rosenberg, and Harry Coverman founded Ollie's in 1982 and today Ollie's has over 150 locations, in fourteen east coast states. Ollie's tagline is "Good Stuff Cheap" and it sells anything from candy to bedding to DVDs and plenty of other odds and ends. Ollie's closest competitors are likely Big Lots or Bargain Hunt but there is also crossover competition between Ollie's and warehouse clubs, off-price retailers like Ross and Marshall's as well as bargain shops like Rugged Warehouse and Tuesday Morning.
Columbus, Ohio-based Big Lots operates more than 40 locations in Georgia and has been in the market for more than two decades.
Nashville, Tennesse-based Essex, operator of Bargain Hunt, is also entering metro Atlanta. Bargain Hunt stores have already opened in Dalton and Rome with their newest store having opened in Kennesaw. According to Bargain Hunt, shoppers can "expect to find designer clothing for men, women, and children, the latest and greatest electronics and HDTVs, a huge selection of home goods and domestics, all kinds of toys and bikes, tons of sporting goods and outdoor gear, both indoor and outdoor furniture, and many more exciting items."
I've never been to either an Ollie's or Bargain Hunt but look forward to checking them out.
Have you been to either? If so, what are your thoughts?
