Off-price retail giants are charging ahead with new store openings this year, buoyed by cost-conscious shoppers who crave the thrill of the “treasure hunt” experience they get at those locations.
Dublin, California-based Ross Dress for Less on Tuesday afternoon reported that it plans to re-accelerate its new store rollouts this year, with about 110 planned. Late last month, TJX Cos. — parent of chains including T.J. Maxx, HomeGoods, Marshalls and Homesense — announced it was set to debut 146 brick-and-mortar locations in 2026. The other major player in the off-price sector, New Jersey-based Burlington Stores, is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday.
The past few years, off-price retailers have enjoyed significant growth as consumers — squeezed by high inflation and rising interest rates — search out bargains in apparel and home goods. These chains have had an easier time finding locations in tight markets because numerous retailers have filed for bankruptcy protection and closed stores.
Off-price merchants offer name-brand merchandise, designer clothes and other goods at lower prices than traditional retail stores. They sell off-season stock, irregular clothes, merchandise from canceled orders, surplus and returned goods, unused inventory and factory seconds from their suppliers. Many shoppers are attracted to off-price stores because they offer them a treasure hunt: Customers never know what they will find, like a Tiffany purse or a Gucci or Burberry scarf, at a steep discount.
Ross, which owns its namesake chain as well as the smaller dd’s Discounts, will open more stores this year than in 2025, company officials said on a fiscal fourth-quarter earnings call.
“Regarding our store expansion program, 2025 was an exciting year of continued growth as we expanded into new markets while deepening our footprint in existing ones,” said Jim Conroy, Ross Stores’ CEO. “During the year, we added 80 new Ross Dress for Less stores and 10 dd’s Discounts stores. Importantly, we expanded into several new markets for Ross, including our first stores in the New York metro area and Puerto Rico.”
Taking into account nine closings, the retailer ended last year with 2,267 stores — 1,904 Ross Dress for Less and 363 dd’s Discounts locations — according to Conroy.
The company plans to open 110 more locations this year, namely 85 Ross stores and 25 dd’s Discounts locations, he said. That represents 5% growth in its store base. It will also close or relocate 10 to 15 older stores.
“As we continue to identify attractive real estate opportunities across our markets, we remain confident in the long-term potential to grow Ross and dd’s chains to 2,900 and 700 stores, respectively, and expand our reach to even more customers over time,” Conroy said.
The productivity of new stores in the Northeast and elsewhere was strong, according to Michael Hartshorn, group president and chief operating officer at Ross Stores, and Conroy.
“It’s not just the new markets,” Conroy said. “We’re seeing it across the regions, even some of our tried-and- true regions in California, Florida and Texas. I think it is a reflection of some of the things we’re doing in existing stores, being more aggressive out of the gate in new stores and seeing it pay off. That said ... we are entering more populated, higher-rent markets, and we’re very pleased with our entry and are seeing great performance there.”
In terms of finding new store sites, Hartshorn said, “We were able to take advantage of some Rite Aid [locations], a bankruptcy deal that helped shore up the pipeline for this year.”
“We have an excellent track record of opening stores in the right locations in the right markets and are convinced that we will continue to do so.”
TJX, based in Framingham, Massachusetts, detailed its 2026 expansion efforts when it reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings in February. In the U.S., it plans to add 45 net new T.J. Maxx and Marshalls stores; 35 new stores at HomeGoods, which includes 11 Homesense stores; and 24 new Sierra stores. In Canada, TJX plans to add 13 more stores. And at TJX International, the company said it plans to add 19 net new stores in Europe, which includes its first five stores in Spain and 10 new stores in Australia.
This adds up to 146 net new stores this year, bringing TJX’s fleet to well over 5,300 stores, according to Chief Financial Officer John Klinger. That represents store growth of about 3%, he said.
There’s “significant opportunity” for TJX to expand its global store base, according to President and CEO Ernie Herrman.
“We see the long-term potential to grow to 7,000 stores with our existing retail banners in our current countries and Spain,” Herrman said. “We have an excellent track record of opening stores in the right locations in the right markets and are convinced that we will continue to do so. With the long-term opportunity to open 1,700-plus additional stores globally, we see a very strong path ahead for continued global growth.”