Ollie's Bargain Outlet opens 500th location in Iowa; Texas, Wisconsin and Long Island next

Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. continued its new-store growth this week, opening its 500th store and edging closer to its goal of 1,050 stores nationwide.

The grand opening of its newest store was held in Iowa City, Iowa, at 1660 Sycamore Street.

“It’s a very exciting week for Ollie’s as we open our 500th store in Iowa—our 30th state—and we are grateful to our team members and customers who have helped us reach this important milestone,” said John Swygert, president and CEO, in a statement.

Ollie's, known for selling merchandise from food to flooring at closeout prices, also held a “Topping Out” ceremony for its first Midwest distribution center on Wednesday.

In a tradition known as “Topping Out,” a signed steel beam was placed on the roof of the Illinois facility signaling the next phase of construction of the more than 615,000-square-foot distribution center, which is slated to open in 2024. With a capital investment of more than $75 million over the next few years, the location will bring 200 new full-time jobs to the area.

“As we continue our journey to open more than 1,050 stores, building a distribution center strategically located in Illinois allows us to efficiently meet demand and deliver outstanding deals to our customers at the lowest possible prices while we expand our national footprint," Swygert said in a statement.

Ollie’s is also eyeing expansion in Wisconsin, Ken Missig, regional director of store operations, told WGB at the opening earlier this year of its Champaign, Illinois, store. “We're going to creep into Wisconsin later in the year,” Missig told WGB.

The Midwest is not the only area in which Ollie’s is expanding its national store footprint. Next Wednesday, it will open a new store in San Angelo, Texas, at 4001 Sunset Drive, across from the Big Lots in the old Bealls Outlet, the retailer announced on its website.

New stores are also coming to the East Coast. 

“Ollie's plan to open two new stores in Long Island by fall of next year," Tom Kuypers, SVP Marketing and Advertising of Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, told WGB in an email. “As people are looking for ways to save money and stretch their dollars, we are ready to introduce Ollie’s to new people that may not have shopped with us previously. We are attracting younger and higher-income shoppers more now than in the past. Everyone is looking for a bargain right now and we are excited to bring deep discounts and more jobs to the Long Island market soon.”