The Container Store expanding its small-format concept

The Container Store is going smaller. It's also opening pop-ups.

The  home storage and organization products retailer plans to open six new small format stores in fiscal 2023, with an additional three planned for the first quarter of 2024.  (Locations listed at end of article.) It also has teamed up with Follett Higher Education, the largest campus retailer in North America, to open pop-ups across 36 Follett college campus bookstores.

The Container Store debuted its small format concept in September 2022, at The Promenade Shops at Briargate, in Colorado Springs, Col. It was followed by a second location, at Tuscan Village in Salem, N.H. A third opened in April, at the Village at Moorpark in Thousand Oaks, Calif.  Stores are in the 15,000 sq. ft. range.

The retailer revealed the new store openings in its first-quarter results (ended July 1), which saw consolidated net sales fall 21.1% to $207.1 million and comparable store sales decrease 19.9%. The company's consolidated net loss and net loss per share were $11.8 million and $0.24 per share, compared to net income of $10.5 million and $0.21 per share in the year-ago quarter.

In a statement, Container Store president and CEO Satish Malhotra said that the company's topline performance was in line with its expectations and reflects "the impact of the ongoing challenging macro environment."

"During the quarter, we continued our focus on bringing merchandise newness and innovation to our customers, and delivering an engaging in-store experience demonstrated by a net promoter score of 81," Malhotra said. "We also tested a number of different promotional events to entice our customers. While these tests pressured margins in the quarter, they unlocked key learnings that we are incorporating into our go-forward promotional plans."

In June, The Container Store announced plans to open 40 college-themed shop-in-shops in collaboration with Dormify during summer 2023. The locations will feature Dormify’s decor and bedding alongside The Container Store’s revamped college product assortment.

The locations for the six new stores for fiscal 2023 are:

San Mateo, Calif. (fall);
Woodland Hills, Calif. (fall);

Princeton, N.J. (fall);
Gaithersburg, Md. (winter 2023)
Miami, Fla. (spring 2024); and
Huntington, N.Y. (spring 2024).