The Paper Store is converting more of its namesake stores to its new immersive retail concept, Uncharted, as part of a $60 million multiyear growth plan.
This Saturday there’s a grand opening planned for an Uncharted store in East Hanover Plaza at 150 Route 10, East Hanover, New Jersey. Acton, Massachusetts-based TPS Group Holdings is the parent company of both The Paper Store and Uncharted.
There are now 10 Uncharted stores, with six in Illinois, two in New York and the East Hanover location marking the second one in New Jersey. The company has plans for five more Uncharted stores to open this year.
“We have committed to investing $60 million in the company over the next four years, opening new stores and remodeling existing ones,” Vanessa Keefe, The Paper Store’s vice president of marketing, said in an email to CoStar News. “This commitment will support our aggressive plans as we expand our Uncharted brand.”
The Paper Store is following a national trend, with Uncharted representing a foray into more interactive and experiential retail looking to capitalize on products trending on social media. For Uncharted, that means things like a large footprint for shoppers to browse; in-store events and services like ear piercing; and a chance for patrons to put together and customize jewelry like an Italian charm bracelet.
Later this month, Uncharted will be hosting an embroidery event for Easter where plush bunnies purchased, or “adopted,” that day can be personalized with custom chain-stitch embroidery.
TPS is a family-run business that was founded over 60 years ago as a small newspaper stand. But it has long since expanded its array of products and grew, now having over 100 specialty gift stores mainly composed of The Paper Store. The company was one of a number of retailers that sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid the pandemic in 2020, and it emerged from it several months later.
Uncharted sells goods such as apparel, jewelry, home decor, toys, baby and kids gear, and spa and beauty merchandise. The new East Hanover store includes several displays highlighting the higher-end MacKenzie-Childs line of hand-painted kitchenware, as well as items from brands such as Vera Bradley, Uggs, Stanley and Kendra Scott. It remains to be seen how well the stores perform at a time when budget-conscious shoppers are cutting back their discretionary spending.
Both of TPS’s chains — The Paper Store and Uncharted — share a core group of brands and departments, according to Keefe. One of the things that sets Uncharted apart is its mix of favorite items as well as brands trending on social media, she said.
“Being so uniquely brand-forward allows us to offer brand pop-ups in our stores where consumers can truly experience the newest brands and get to know the products,” Keefe said.
The name Uncharted refers to “a journey of product discovery,” according to the retailer.
Last year, Destination XL Group, catering to “Big + Tall men,” took over a former Paper Store space at 200 Route 10 in East Hanover. The new Uncharted store, roughly 11,400 square feet, is on the other side of that property in a former Petco location.
The Paper Store had a location at Clifton Commons at 110 Kingsland Road in Clifton, New Jersey. In 2024, it moved to a larger space, nearly 9,000 square feet, in that shopping center, a former Party City, and reopened under the Uncharted brand.
“The Paper Store has been a beloved destination here for years, and we’re introducing Uncharted to evolve the retail experience for the community, providing them with creative ways to customize their shopping experience and explore their favorite brands or discover new ones,” Tom Anderson, CEO of TPS Group, said in a statement on the Clifton opening.
In Florida, The Paper Store has been rebranding its locations as Gifts & More at The Paper Store. In February in Venice Village, a Paper Store shifted to a larger space at that Florida shopping center and reopened as Gifts & More at The Paper Store.
The reopening is part of The Paper Store’s expansion in the larger Florida community, according to Anderson.
He described Gifts & More as “a newer, bigger, and better ‘happy place,’ where high-quality products meet a unique interactive shopping experience.”
All of TPS’s 11 stores throughout Florida operate under the Gifts & More at The Paper Store banner, according to Keefe. The addition of “Gifts & More” was to avoid confusion and for brand recognition, she said.
“Many years ago, when Florida was a new market for us, we decided to add ‘Gifts & More’ in front of The Paper Store to help consumers understand in this new market that we did not sell paper,” Keefe said.