Imagine walking into a store where discounts are combined with tongue-in-cheek comics painted on signs throughout the store. Such a store exists and is called Ollie’s Bargain Outlet which touts itself as having “Good Stuff Cheap” and serves customers in the mid-Atlantic portion of the country.
Upon a recent visit to relatives, I stumbled upon the Steubenville, Ohio Ollie’s Bargain Outlet located in the remaining half of the former Phar-Mor store in the Tri State Plaza. The other half of the former Phar-Mor is already occupied by a Dollar Tree. While Dollar Tree completely renovated the exterior and interior of its half of the building, Ollie’s did not.
You can tell in the store from the different floor tile where Phar-Mor’s former video department is located in the front right corner, which now houses many of the store’s books and games.
The shopping center is anchored by a Big Kmart store and is located near the junction of Mall Road and Lover’s Lane, not far from the Fort Steuben Mall. The Fort Steuben Mall is anchored by Sears, J.C. Penney, Macy’s, Wal-Mart Super Center, Carmike Cinemas, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Steve and Barry’s.
Ollie’s features closeout, surplus, and salvage merchandise and its Steubenville location is only one of 57 stores which the company refers to as “semi-lovely”. The chain admits these “semi-lovely” stores are vanilla boxes with a concrete floor that are outfitted with a warehouse format with excellent lighting.
These stores, which are between 28,000 and 35,000 square feet, are located in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia, and New York. There are 30 Pennsylvania stores but only one in West Virginia.
The locations consist of recently vacated grocery stores and discount stores, most of which are located in strip shopping centers. Ollie’s is definitely breathing new life into second-generation shopping centers, possibly helping to save some of these centers from demolition. Many of these centers date back to the 1960’s and while some have received renovations and face-lifts since then, others look much like they did over forty years ago.
The chain hopes to open between 10 and 15 stores each year and continue to grow into new markets.
According to the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Web site, some of their merchandise comes from manufactures who make too much of an item or change the packaging while other merchandise is the result of liquidated major retail centers. The site claims that some merchandise could come from a store that experienced a fire, Ollie’s buys that merchandise, liquidates it, and that deep-discounted prices make up for such imperfections.
Ollie’s, which is headquarted out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is similar to the Ocean State Job Lot from North Kingston, RI.
In the Steubenville, the store’s floor did not seem very clean and the layout of the store was somewhat disorganized.
The site claims that handwritten humorous signs distinguish different departments and while the comics are cute and different, it is quite awkward to use them to point out departments for customers. These large signs and murals portray Ollie as a cartoon character.
While some employees at the Steubenville store were organizing items on shelves to keep the place tidy, other merchandise in the store was quite disorganized.
Much of Steubenville’s furniture was tucked away in the back of the store along with a coffee pot where Ollie’s welcomes customers to get a cup of coffee and if they enjoy it, “have a second on the house with two sugars, because it’s been a good year for us!
One sign in the store states, “Tanks for the Business! Buy Something for the Shell of It!” with Ollie driving a green army tank seen in the book department while the carpeting department has a sign stating “Carpeting Prices That Will Floor Ya!” with a man who apparently got run over by the store’s cheap prices. Others have comics alluding to the cheap price of merchandise at the store. One pays homage to a television commercial where Ollie is on trial for selling good stuff cheap while another alludes to the fact that Ollie is a doctor – of selling good stuff cheap!
According to the Ollie’s Web site, these signs are “unique to Ollie’s and create a sense of excitement.” Some of the signs advertising prices that are in front of merchandise are handwritten creating the environment similar to a rummage sale even though much of the merchandise at the store you wouldn’t find at any tag sale. Some items are displayed on pallets and moveable fixtures and not on shelves in aisles which is the standard practice in most discount stores.
Outside the store, banners claim “New Closeouts Arriving Daily” while other stores boast banners stating “Surplus, Closeouts, Buyouts, Salvage.” Some stores have signs stating “Good ‘N Cheap” while others state “Good Stuff Cheap,” and some have large banners streaming across the front of the store.
Many stores which used to be supermarkets have large display windows which are filled with mostly handwritten signs about the largest bargains available to customers. The Brooklyn Park, Maryland store’s exterior is alternating red and white stripes, resembling that of either a picnic table or a circus atmosphere. The store on Catasauqua Road in Allentown, Pennsylvania has two large decorative posts on either side of the store’s brown front.
The exterior of every store has a portrait of Ollie, an elderly but fun grandpa with a full head of gray hair and a gray mustache, two large front teeth, and he is wearing a red shirt ready to share his love of savings to you. The actual mascot suit has Ollie wearing a Hawaiian shirt underneath the red one, brown dress pants, and black shoes.
When I was at the Steubenville store, merchandise varied from seasonal, lawn and garden, books, furniture, health and beauty aids, hardware and tools, domestics, toys, pets, sporting goods, food and candy, and housewares. Merchandise savings is usually 30 to 70 percent off regular retail prices. Some of this merchandise included name-brand products such as Rubbermaid, Igloo, Mattel, and Ecko.
Ollie’s has a 30-day “No Hard Time” Guarantee allowing customers to return merchandise with a receipt within 30 days for a full refund.
Customers are invited to join Ollie’s Army which is the store’s free customer loyalty program where there is no obligation to be a member for a certain length of time. You can visit the Ollie’s Web site, print out the application form, and turn it in at the customer service desk the next time you visit an Ollie’s store. Discount certificates are mailed to members who accrue 250 points and customers earn one point for every dollar they spend. These special savings are open only to enrollees of Ollie’s army and not available to the general public. Today, Ollie’s has approximately 800,000 members of this frequent shopper club and members can check their point balances on the Ollie’s Web site as well as edit or view their Ollie’s information.
By typing in your zip code, Ollie’s Web site highlights your local store’s upcoming deals, “Kiss It Goodbuy’s” and a flyer. Upcoming deals include departments or types of merchandise usually discounted at a percentage off price-point. “Kiss It Goodbuy’s” are clearance items, which can be up to 80% off regular retail prices, that the store is looking to severely discount so new merchandise can be taken out of the stock room and put on store shelves. Each week a new flyer is available in stores and on the Web site highlighting the special sales each week.
Remember that these discounts means supplies vary between stores so use the store locator and see all the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet’s within a 100 mile radius of your workplace, home, relative’s houses, and friend’s houses!
Ollie’s was founded by the late Mort Bernstein who was an Army veteran, a graduate of Bosco University, and created the store’s concept in 1982. He was the company’s President and CEO and opened the first store in Mechanicsville, Pennsylvania with a second store opening in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Bernstein’s likeness was replicated as the store’s mascot.
The site claims “the bigger the cheapskate you are – the more you save!”
I think Big Lots is more organized and cleaner than this store but think overall Ollie’s is a store where you can find great buys and unique merchandise. Shopping at Ollie’s is like digging through a treasure chest or going on an adventure, you just never know what you will find.
Most Ollie’s stores are open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. It is recommended that you call your Ollie’s Bargain Outlet using the phone numbers on the Web site to see what hours your local store is open.
