Children’s Place exec joins C-suite at Ollie’s Bargain Outlet
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings has named a new CFO.
The retailer of closeout merchandise and excess inventory appointed Rob Helm as senior VP and CFO, effective immediately. Helm succeeds Jay Stasz, who resigned in June to head up finance at Savers Value Village.
Helm joins Ollie’s from The Children’s Place, where he most recently served as CFO. Prior to joining The Children’s Place in 2016, he held senior finance and accounting roles at Ralph Lauren, Fresh Direct, and Rag & Bone.
Ollies, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, currently operates 462 stores in 29 states. The company has been opening 50 to 55 locations annually, with an ultimate goal of at least 1,050 stores. Upcoming store openings include locations in Katy, Texas, and Shelby, N.C., on Oct. 26, as well as in New Iberia, La., on Nov. 9.
“Rob has a proven track record of success, and brings significant financial leadership experience in the consumer retail sector,” said John Swygert, president and CEO, Ollie’s. “We believe that his extensive background, leadership skills, and deep knowledge in the retail space will be instrumental to the execution of our growth plans as we expand our store base to 1,050 locations.”
For its second quarter ending July 30, Ollie’s net sales increased 8.8% to $452.5 million. The increase was the result of a comparable-store sales increase of 1.2%, in addition to new-store unit growth.
“It is very exciting to join a company that has such a remarkable track record of success over time and with a clear path to even more significant growth ahead,” Helm commented. “Ollie's has an incredible business model, a smart and passionate team, and a strong balance sheet.”
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet was founded in 1982. It offers an extensive variety of heavily discounted brand name merchandise across departments that include food, books, housewares, toys, electronics, domestics, clothing, furniture, health and beauty, flooring and seasonal items.
Ollie’s operates stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.