BUSINESS

Ollie's Bargain Outlet opens Louisiana stores

Darian Graivshark
Grand opening headers.

Founded in 1982, Ollie's Bargain Outlet, Inc., is one of the largest retailers of closeouts and excess inventory.

On Wednesday, April 24, Ollie's in Gonzales had their grand opening celebration. With a ribbon cutting just a few moments before 9 a.m., they opened their doors to a line of shoppers awaiting outside.

Two other locations opened in Louisiana, including Baton Rouge and Denham Springs on April 24 as well.

Jimmy Terry, General Manager of the Gonzales store, said, "We get a lot of our products from other companies that may have gone bankrupt or had overproduction. A good example is Toys"R"Us. When they were going out of business, our company actually bought out one of their stores and then sold those products at a cheaper price."

"We are excited to open three new stores in the great state of Louisiana where the folks have been so good to us," said Mark Butler, President and CEO of Ollie's Bargain Outlet. "With so many great deals, we're thrilled to offer shoppers in Baton Rouge, Denham Springs, Gonzales, and surrounding areas a wide variety of name brand merchandise at up to 70 percent off the fancy store prices."

With each store that opens in a community, about 50-60 new jobs are created. Across the company, Ollie's employs about 8,000 associates.

"What's really great about our store is that we sell name brand products, not anything that's off-brand. So, our customers are really getting a bargain for what they pay for when they shop with us," Terry said. "It's also important they buy something when they see it, because it's not guaranteed that it will be back in the store again once it's gone."

Ollie's is known as the "Good Stuff Cheap" store, and is located at 406 W Highway 30 in Gonzales. The store is open Monday through Saturday between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., then Sunday between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

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