Ollie's acquires 11 former 99 Cents Only locations

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet is expanding its footprint through a bankruptcy auction.

The close-out retailer has concluded the purchase of 11 former 99 Cents Only Stores locations through the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The $14.6 million cash deal comes nearly two months after the extreme discounter went out of business, closing all of its nearly 371 stores located in California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada.

99 Cents Only’s closure came a week after Bloomberg reported that the retailer was considering a bankruptcy filing amid a liquidity shortfall.

“We are very excited to be announced as the winning bidder of these store locations,” said John Swygert, president and CEO of Ollie’s. “These stores are the right size, located in good trade areas, have attractive rents and leasing structures, and have been serving value-oriented customers for many years. Texas is a great market for us that has tremendous growth potential and continues to benefit from strong population growth.”

Of the 11 store locations, three of them are owned properties and eight are leased properties located in key markets across Texas. The acquisition is expected to close in early June.

“We are focused on getting these stores up and running as quickly as possible, given the occupancy expenses we will begin incurring at closing,” added Swygert. “We are maintaining our target of 50 new stores, less two planned closures, for fiscal 2024 and are in the early stages of evaluating the impact on our new store opening cadence this year.”

Ollie’s currently operates 516 stores in 30 states. The retailer sells closeout merchandise and excess inventory in a variety of departments, including housewares, food, books and stationery, bed and bath, floor coverings, toys, health and beauty aids, and more. 

According to retailer foot traffic firm Placer.ai, Ollie’s saw visits increase 13.0% year-over-year in 2023.