Customers line up for the opening of Ollie's on Thursday.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Ollie's Bargain Outlet is officially open.
The store took over the building at 457 Dalton Ave., which was formerly Big Lots.
The discount retailer celebrated with a ribbon-cutting on Thursday morning, handing out bags with a shirt and a calendar to customers.
"When [the space] became available, we were all over this as a team. We want to be in Berkshire County. We love Pittsfield. It's a great location," Ollie's President and CEO Eric van der Valk said.
Van der Valk said the company's business model is "good stuff cheap." The store sells discounted items that can be found in major retail stores.
"It's deep, deep discount. Our prices are up to 70 percent off. Every price ticket is going to show you the prevailing price in the market, and our price gives so, you a way to compare," Van der Valk said.
"And we have real brands for real bargain prices. And that's a lot of what we do is provide brands that you recognize from so many other stores that we buy primarily in closeouts or at an off price.
"So, it may be last year's vacuum that was discontinued, but it's brand new, and it's a phenomenal value because it's last year's vacuum and the other stores are carrying this year's vacuum at a higher price."
He believes that the store's business model and lower prices are helpful in times when some people are being cautious on how much they spend.
The discounted prices that Ollie's Bargain Outlet provides is critical during times of inflation and any economic stress placed on the customer, Van der Valk said. "People are much more mindful of the budgets and how they spend their money, and they want to be really smart about it. You come in our store and it's a smart move if you're budget conscious."
Van der Valk has a personal connection to Pittsfield as his wife and her family grew up in Dalton. They tried to go into the Allendale Underground a while back after Big Lots moved from there, but the location was too small, he said.
Ollie's has been trying to open a location in Pittsfield for five years, initially considering the Allendale Shopping Center. However, the company decided against the location because of its limited space, he said.
The chain was able to employ 40 people at this store, mentioning some of them had worked at some of the stores that went bankrupt.
Ollie's, based in Harrisburg, Pa., has more than 600 stores. Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last September. It operated nearly 1,400 stores nationwide but began closing more than 300 by August with plans for another 250 by January. Ollie's has opened 85 stores, surpassing its 50 openings last year; 60 of those were Big Lots locations, said Van der Valk.
The Dalton Avenue location is great, and it means a lot to now be open in this community, he said.
"It's great where it is, and it's great space. And then I have this personal connection to the community, which meant a lot too, but we're really happy to be here, especially in the wake of Big Lots' bankruptcy and other bankruptcies, like Joann's [Fabric and] Party City, for example," he said. "So, us coming in to employ people, to service a customer with great prices, deep discounts, and to take over real estate that's vacant [and] could be vacant for quite some time ... is really important to us, and we as a company. ...
"We have some that used to work the former Big Lots across our whole chain. It's actually quite a few of our leaders that came from Big Lots. So, we have been able to employ people from Big Lots, as well as some other chains that have gone out of business."
The store is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily except 10 to 7 on Sunday. More information here.
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