Bargain stores take root

Rocky Mount is becoming a haven for discount stores.

Some retailers say the stores appeal to bargain hunters in the down economy. Others say Rocky Mount offers reasonable lease rates that allow the stores to offer low prices while making a profit. Others say Rocky Mount’s demographics are perfect for the stores.

Discount retailers are among the latest anchor tenants to move into shopping plazas that were half empty for years.

Last month, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet store opened in the long-vacant anchor space in the Tiffany Square shopping center.

Ollie’s slogan is “Good Stuff Cheap!” According to its Web site, the store is the “mid-Atlantic’s largest retailer of closeout, surplus and salvage merchandise.”

Also last month, a Roses department store opened in the Englewood Square shopping center to the delight of bargain hunters.

On sale at the store’s grand opening were $5 Levi jeans, $10 women’s skirt and suit outfits, $3 bath towels and $100 20-inch flatscreen RCA television sets.

A Family Dollar store has committed to moving into the Englewood Square in what was the former Eckerd Drug location. It will be the 10th Family Dollar to open in the Twin Counties.

A month ago, a new Dollar General store opened on Raleigh Road next to Piggly Wiggly grocery store. It is the ninth Dollar General to open in the Twin Counties.

A Dollar Tree in the Cobb Corners shopping plaza has reported brisk business over the last year, with many first-time customers.

Rocky Mount is also home to discount retailers Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target and Ross Dress for Less. Meanwhile, some mid-to-higher end stores have been struggling. Stein Mart has closed in Englewood Square.

Discount stores in general are doing well in the down economy, which is causing them to expand across the country, said Alan Matthews, the director of business recruitment for the Rocky Mount Area Chamber of Commerce.

“It’s not a Rocky Mount thing,” he said. “This is happening across certainly our region as well as the country. Dollar General sales are up 238 percent over the last year.”

Matthews said the same couldn’t be said for higher-end retailers, whose business has been going down or holding steady during the recession.

The chamber has been contacting discount retailers in its recruiting efforts, but often that is not necessary, Matthews said.

“A lot of these businesses have targeted us,” he said.

The chamber has not given up on its effort to recruit the higher-end retailers, Matthews said.

“There is not a whole lot of activity for higher-end retailers,” he said. “They are going through a very difficult time right now. But high-end retailers are identifying sites. They may not be moving or expanding today, but working to identify sites, so when the economy does change in their favor, they’ll be ahead of the curve. We’re working with some.”

Wilson Sawyer, the president of Variety Wholesalers that owns Roses, said there were several factors that made Rocky Mount an appealing location for a Roses department store.

Roses Stores, originally known as P.H. Rose, is a regional discount store based in Henderson.

“We like Rocky Mount,” he said. “We think it’s a good market for us. And Roses at one time had two stores (in Rocky Mount).”

Rocky Mount’s demographics mesh well with the discount store, Sawyer said.

Englewood Square also was offering very appealing lease rates, he added.

“We think it’s a great town with lots of people,” he said.

Variety Wholesalers also owns a Maxway discount store at 204 S. Fairview Road.

“Our home is in North Carolina,” he said. “Rocky Mount is close (to the company headquarters).”

Rocky Mount’s demographics and labor force were factors in Ollie’s Bargain Outlet’s decision to open in Tiffany Square, said Dan Haines, vice president of marketing and advertising for the company.

“Today’s consumers are absolutely value-oriented,” he said. “They are looking for value-oriented retailers. That is what we are all about – the deal. We’re all about the bargain.”

Rocky Mount’s demographic includes “good, hard-working people” who would make ideal shoppers and store employees, Haines said.

“That is a real positive moving into that market,” he said.

The Tiffany Square location also was appealing to the store.

“We found a good property we liked, which had a good traffic flow,” Haines said. “That is what really what drew us down there.”

He also said the lease rate was enticing.

“We try to find properties that we can lease for a good value,” Haines said. “That is all part of our value proposition – everything we do we look for value all the way through, so at the end of the day customers are provided with great values.”