PEORIA, Ill. – A quick-growing national retail outlet is officially open in Peoria.
Ollie’s opened up two of its four Illinois locations Thursday — one in the Willow Knolls Shopping Center, in the location of the former Burlington Coat Factory.
“We’re primarily a closeout retailer,” said Ken Messig, regional director. “We get lots of exciting stuff — maybe things that are towards the end of the season, package changes, things where other retailers maybe did a reset and had other goods that they were bringing in and the old goods are available to us. We get things from all over the place. Our buyers do a great job of sourcing things — mostly brand names.”
Would issues like the continued problems with the supply chain, or a now-averted railroad strike affect a growing national discount retailer like Ollie’s? Messig says, no. Not really.
“We’ve got a good funnel of merchandise coming in to our distribution centers. So, really, not an issue at this point in time,” said Messig.
At the grand opening Thursday, checkout lines extended to the back of the store at one point.
Ollie’s is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays. Messig says the store expects to have 50 or so employees, but still has a few spots to fill. CLICK HERE for an application.
A location is still being looked at for Pekin, but Messig says plans are not final at this time.
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