Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. (‘Ollie’s’), together with its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer of closeout merchandise and excess inventory in America.
The company’s stores sell name brand household-related items that consumers use in their everyday lives at prices that are typically 20% to 70% below traditional retailers. Known for the company’s assortment of products offered as ‘Good Stuff Cheap,’ the company offers customers a broad selection of brand name products, including hous...
Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. (‘Ollie’s’), together with its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer of closeout merchandise and excess inventory in America.
The company’s stores sell name brand household-related items that consumers use in their everyday lives at prices that are typically 20% to 70% below traditional retailers. Known for the company’s assortment of products offered as ‘Good Stuff Cheap,’ the company offers customers a broad selection of brand name products, including housewares, bed and bath, food, floor coverings, health and beauty aids, books and stationery, toys, and electronics.
The company has expanded its store base through acquiring former store locations of bankrupt retailers through the bankruptcy store auction process. The company follows a contiguous unit growth strategy that combines backfilling existing markets and states with entering new markets and states in a contiguous manner. It has grown to various stores in 31 states. The company’s no-frills, ‘semi-lovely’ warehouse-style stores average approximately 32,000 square feet and generate consistently strong financial returns across all vintages, geographic regions, population densities, demographic groups, real estate formats, and regardless of any co-tenant.
The company’s constantly changing merchandise assortment is procured by a highly experienced merchant team, which leverages deep, long-standing relationships with hundreds of major manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, brokers, and retailers. These relationships enable the company’s merchant team to find and select only the best buys from a broad range of brand name closeout product offerings and to pass drastically reduced prices along to its customers. The company’s merchant team augments these deals with directly sourced products, including Ollie’s own private label brands and other products exclusive to Ollie’s.
Growth Strategy
The company's strategies are to grow its store base, increase the company's offerings of great bargains, and leverage and expand Ollie's Army.
Merchandise Strategy
The company sells a wide assortment of household goods. The company’s focus is on national branded products that consumers know and recognize. It offers a highly differentiated, constantly evolving assortment of brand name merchandise across a broad range of categories at drastically reduced prices. The company’s ever-changing assortment of ‘Good Stuff Cheap’ includes brand name closeout merchandise from leading manufacturers. It augments its brand name merchandise with opportunistic purchases of unbranded goods and its own domestic and direct-import private label brands in underpenetrated categories to further enhance the assortment of products that the company offers. Brand name closeout merchandise represented approximately 65%, and non-closeout goods and private label products collectively represented approximately 35% of the retail value of its 2024 merchandise purchases.
The company’s warehouse format stores feature a broad number of categories, including housewares, bed and bath, food, floor coverings, health and beauty aids, books and stationery, toys, and electronics, as well as other products, including hardware, candy, clothing, sporting goods, pet, and lawn and garden products. The company focuses on buying cheap to sell cheap and sources products as unique buying opportunities present themselves. The company’s merchandise mix is designed to combine unique and brand name bargains at extremely attractive price points. This approach results in frequently changing product assortments and localized offerings that encourage shopper frequency and a ‘shop now’ sense of urgency as customers hunt to discover the next deal.
Product categories and mix
Examples of the company’s product offerings include:
Housewares: cooking utensils, dishes, appliances, plastic containers, cutlery, paper goods, storage and garbage bags, detergents and cleaning supplies, cookware and glassware, candles, hardware, frames, and giftware;
Bed and bath: household goods, including bedding, towels, curtains, and associated hardware;
Food: packaged food, including coffee, bottled non-carbonated beverages, salty snacks, candy, condiments, sauces, spices, dry pasta, canned goods, cereal, and cookies;
Floor coverings: laminate flooring, commercial and residential carpeting, area rugs, and floor mats;
Books and stationery: novels, children’s, how-to, business, cooking, inspirational and coffee table books, greeting cards, and various office supplies;
Electronics: home electronics, cellular accessories, and as seen on television;
Toys: dolls, action figures, puzzles, educational toys, board games, and other related items;
Health and beauty aids: personal care, hair care, oral care, health and wellness, over-the-counter medicine, first aid, sun care, and personal grooming;
Seasonal: summer furniture, air conditioners, fans and space heaters, and lawn & garden; and
Other: clothing, sporting goods, pet products, luggage, and automotive.
Consumables include items, such as health and beauty aids, food, candy, pet food, detergents, and cleaning supplies. Home includes items, such as housewares, domestics, floor coverings, and hardware. Seasonal includes items, such as summer furniture, air conditioners, fans and space heaters, toys, and lawn & garden. Other includes items, such as books and stationery, electronics, clothing, sporting goods, pet products, luggage, and automotive.
Product categories
The company maintains consistent average margins across its primary product categories described below.
Brand name closeout merchandise
Brand name closeout merchandise represented approximately 65% of the retail value of the company’s 2024 merchandise purchases. The company’s focus is to provide huge savings to its customers primarily through brand name products across a broad range of merchandise. The company’s experienced merchant team purchases deeply discounted, branded or closeout merchandise primarily from manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and brokers. This merchandise includes overstocks, discontinued merchandise, package changes, canceled orders, excess inventory, and buybacks from retailers and major manufacturers.
Non-closeout goods/private label
Non-closeout and private label products collectively represented approximately 35% of the retail value of its 2024 merchandise purchases. The company augments the breadth of its brand name merchandise with non-closeout and private label merchandise. In categories where the consumer is not as brand conscious, such as food, home textiles, and furniture, or when the company may not be offering a current brand name merchandise deal, it will buy deeply discounted unbranded merchandise. These extreme value offerings are mixed in the stores with its brand name merchandise. The company also has a variety of domestic and direct-import private label merchandise and exclusive products sold under numerous brands. These high-quality products are developed in key categories, such as housewares and are designed to create brand-like excitement and complement its brand name merchandise. The company also has licenses for private label products that use recognizable celebrity names or brand names. The company routinely evaluates the quality and condition of these private label goods to ensure that it is delivering its customers a high-quality product at a great price.
Distribution and logistics
The company has made significant investments in its distribution network and personnel to support its store growth plan. The company’s stores generally receive shipments from its distribution centers one to two times a week, depending on the season and specific store size and sales volume. The company utilizes independent third-party freight carriers.
Stores
The company operated various stores, averaging approximately 32,000 square feet, across 31 contiguous states in the eastern half of the United States. The company’s highly flexible real estate approach has proven successful across all vintages, geographic regions, population densities, demographic groups, real estate formats, and regardless of any co-tenant. The company’s business model has resulted in positive financial performance during strong and weak economic cycles. The company has successfully opened stores in six new states since 2020, highlighting the portability of the company’s new store model.
In fiscal 2022, the company implemented an ongoing store improvement initiative to provide its customers with an updated shopping experience, which showcases its tremendous value and the amazing deals it offers in an organized and easy-to-navigate store format. The company has remodeled various stores as of February 1, 2025, and 20 stores in fiscal 2024, and continues to see a sales uplift in newly remodeled locations. With a relatively low upfront investment, the company’s remodels have produced, on average, a payback period of approximately two years.
Store design and layout
All of the company’s warehouse format stores incorporate the same philosophy: no-frills, bright, ‘semi-lovely’ stores, and a fun, treasure hunt shopping experience. The company presents its stores as ‘semi-lovely’ to differentiate its stores from other traditional retailers, and to minimize operating and build-out costs. The company’s stores also welcome its customers with vibrant and colorful caricatures, together with witty signage. The company attempts to make its customers laugh as it pokes fun at itself and current events.
The company makes it easy for its customers to browse its stores by displaying its frequently changing assortment of products on rolling tables, pallets, and other display fixtures. The company’s store team leaders are responsible for maintaining its treasure hunt shopping experience, keeping the stores clean and well-lit, and ensuring its customers are engaged.
Marketing and advertising
The company tailors its marketing mix and strategy for each market, deal, or promotion. The company primarily uses the following forms of marketing and advertising:
Print and direct mail: The company’s flyers are typically distributed semi-monthly, with increased frequency in peak shopping periods, and serve as the foundation of its marketing strategy, to remain top of mind with its shoppers. They highlight current deals to create shopping urgency and drive traffic and increase frequency of store visits;
Television and radio: The company selectively utilizes creative television/over-the-top television (‘OTT’) and radio advertising campaigns in targeted markets throughout the year, to create brand awareness and support new store openings;
Charity and community events: The company is dedicated to maintaining a visible presence in the communities in which its stores are located through the sponsorship of charitable organizations, such as Feeding America, Toys for Tots, Children’s Miracle Network, and the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation; and
Digital marketing and social media: The company maintains an active online presence and promotes its brand through its website, the company’s mobile app, and digital and social media platforms, including influencers across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. The company also utilizes targeted email marketing to highlight its latest brand name offerings and drive traffic to its stores.
Ollie’s Army
The company’s customer loyalty program, Ollie’s Army, stands at 15.1 million members as of February 1, 2025. In 2024, Ollie’s Army members accounted for over 82% of net sales and spent approximately 40% more per shopping trip, on average, than non-members. The company expects to continue leveraging the data gathered from its proprietary database of Ollie’s Army members to better segment and target its marketing initiatives and increase shopping frequency.
In July of fiscal 2024, the company launched a co-branded Visa credit card in an effort to expand the benefits available to its customers under the Ollie’s Army loyalty program. The Card Program is maintained by Sunbit, a leading financial technology solutions provider. Ollie’s Army members can sign up for the card in stores and online.
Trademarks and other intellectual property
The company owns multiple state and federally registered trademarks related to its brand, including ‘Ollie’s,’ ‘Ollie’s Bargain Outlet,’ ‘Good Stuff Cheap,’ ‘Ollie’s Army,’ ‘Real Brands Real Cheap!,’ and ‘Real Brands! Real Bargains!,’ among others. In addition, the company maintains a federal trademark for the image of Ollie, the face of its company. The company also owns registered trademarks for many of its private labels, such as ‘Sarasota Breeze,’ ‘Steelton Tools,’ ‘American Way,’ and ‘Middleton Home,’ among others. The company routinely prosecutes trademarks where appropriate, both for private label goods and to further identify its goods and services. The company enters into trademark license agreements as necessary, which may include its private label offerings, such as the Magnavox products available in its stores. The company’s trademark registrations have various expiration dates; however, assuming that the trademark registrations are properly renewed, they have a perpetual duration. The company also owns several domain names, including www.ollies.us, www.ollies.com, www.olliesbargainoutlet.com, www.olliesarmy.com, www.ollies.cheap, www.sarasotabreeze.com, and www.olliesmail.com, and unregistered copyrights in its website content.
Government regulation
The company sources a portion of its products from outside the United States. The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other similar anti-bribery and anti-kickback laws and regulations generally prohibit companies and their intermediaries from making improper payments to non-U.S. officials for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. The company’s policies and its vendor code of conduct mandate compliance with applicable law, including these laws and regulations.
Seasonality
The company’s business is seasonal in nature, and demand is generally the highest in its fourth fiscal quarter (year ended February 1, 2025) due to the holiday sales season. To prepare for the holiday sales season, the company must order and keep in stock more merchandise than it carries during other times of the year and generally engages in additional marketing efforts. The company experiences fluctuations in net sales and working capital requirements during the year.
History
The company was founded in 1982. It was incorporated in Delaware in 2012. The company was formerly known as Bargain Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. in 2015.