Grocery Outlet to open first Ohio store
- Discount grocer Grocery Outlet is coming to Ohio.
- According to local reports, it will open in Boardman Township outside Youngstown.
- The grocer operates in California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.
Grocery Outlet has plans to open its first store in Ohio in Boardman Township, outside the city of Youngstown, according to local news reports.
According to a May 9 report from WFMJ, which cited a recently filed zoning signage permit, the first Grocery Outlet store in the state will be located at 317 Boardman Poland Rd. in a location that was once home to a Toys R Us store.
The grocer has more than 400 locations across several states that include: California (where it’s headquartered), Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland, according to Grocery Outlet. The grocer is known for selling brand-name products at steep discounts, which it says are possible through surplus goods purchases, packaging changes and product overruns. Additionally, Grocery Outlet says most of its stores are operated locally by members of the communities where they’re located.
Sales at Grocery Outlet increased by 16.1% to $965.5 million in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same time period last year, according to the grocer’s first-quarter earnings report. Comparable store sales increased by 12.1% in the first quarter, which Grocery Outlet attributed to a 7.9% increase in the number of transactions and a 3.9% increase in transaction size.
Grocers and other essential retailers that offer consumers discounts on price and focus on value have grown in popularity as shoppers face inflated prices across retail, including in grocery. While inflation has continued to cool since its peak last year, and food prices finally fell, consumers are unlikely to feel immediate relief or shed behaviors picked up during the inflationary period.
"Our first quarter performance exceeded expectations driven by strong same-store sales results, gross margin expansion and bottom-line leverage,” said RJ Sheedy, president and CEO of Grocery Outlet, in the earnings report. “We are encouraged by the growth in transactions as we are attracting new customers and our existing customers are shopping with us more often. We are delivering on our mission of Touching Lives for the Better, and we continue to execute our strategic growth initiatives to maximize long-term shareholder value."