Ollie’s eyes IPO and 950 stores

Off-price retailer Ollie’s quietly doubled in size the past few years and now the company plans to go public, accelerating growth of no-frills stores it affectionately refers to as “semi-lovely” warehouses.

Ollie’s operates 181 stores in the Eastern U.S. that last year generated annual sales $638 million and net income of $26.9 million.

The company describes itself as, “a highly differentiated and fast-growing, extreme value retailer of brand name merchandise at drastically reduced prices.” Ollie’s contends it is known for its ever-changing product assortment and value proposition of, “good stuff cheap.” T

he assortment found in the typical 34,000-sq.-ft. store includes brand name products in categories such as housewares, food, books and stationery, bed and bath, floor coverings, toys and hardware.

“Our differentiated go-to market strategy is characterized by a unique, fun and engaging treasure hunt shopping experience, compelling customer value proposition and witty, humorous in-store signage and advertising campaigns,” according to Ollie’s registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “These attributes have driven our rapid growth and strong and consistent store performance as evidenced by our store base expansion from 96 stores to 176 stores, net sales growth from $335.7 million to $638.0 million and average net sales per store ranging from $3.7 million to $3.8 million between fiscal year 2010 and fiscal year 2014.”

Going forward, Ollie’s said it plans to build on the 22 and 23 new stores it opened in 2014 and 2013, respectively, with plans for 25 to 30 stores this year. Long-term, the company has identified suitable locations to expand its store base to 950 locations with the company’s existing distribution centers in York, Pa. and Commerce, Ga., capable of service up to 400 of the locations.

The Georgia facility opened last April. Ollie’s is led by Mark Butler who serves as chairman, president and CEO and co-founded Ollie’s in Mechanicsburg, Pa., in 1982.

The company is coming off a solid first quarter performance in which sales increased. 20.9% to $162.5 million and same store sales increased 8.8%