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You will have access to the entire universe of content when you buy one of our premium products. The orchestrators of this rapid expansion and the two pivotal figures who erased three decades of sleepy growth to engender a dramatically more dynamic Ross retail chain were Stuart Moldaw and Donald Rowlett, the duo who spearheaded the acquisition of the Ross business in August Stuart Moldaw, who became chairman of Ross following the acquisition, was not new to the off-price retail scene.
Rowlett, who was selected as the new president of Ross, was no novice either, having created and developed F.
Woolworth's off-price subsidiary, J. Brannam, into a unit chain. Together, these two retail veterans had visions of creating a powerful off-price retail chain in an area of the country where the off-price concept was virtually nonexistent.
Elsewhere, particularly along the East Coast and in the Midwest, off-price retail stores were enjoying burgeoning popularity during the early s, but in California they were conspicuous by their absence, at least as Moldaw and Rowlett saw it.
Considering the pace at which Moldaw and Rowlett expanded the Ross chain shortly after acquiring it, the two were intent on pioneering the concept in California and saturating markets before rival off-price chains recognized the opportunities that existed in California. Such was the attraction of the six-unit Ross chain to Moldaw and Rowlett--its location in California.
Little else, beyond the chain's limited name recognition in the San Francisco area, would contribute to its success for the remainder of the s and the s. Success was realized from the changes instituted by Moldaw and Rowlett, the first of which was recasting the six-unit chain as a different type of retailer. The two shifted the chain's focus away from its junior orientation to create an off-price format stocking branded apparel for men, women, and children, as well as domestics merchandise, shoes, and accessories at sharply reduced prices.
Once the stores were dedicated toward attracting a broader customer base and outfitted with a broader merchandise selection, Moldaw and Rowlett made their second decisive move by quickly adding to their store count. Two Ross "Dress for Less" stores were opened in the fall of and 18 stores the following year, more than tripling the size of Ross in little more than a year. Much of the physical growth recorded during the first full year of Moldaw's and Rowlett's leadership was accomplished by acquiring existing stores in strip malls and free-standing locations abandoned by other retailers.
This acquisition strategy would continue to be used by the company as its geographic scope of operations broadened, severing the chains that had fettered it to Northern California for three decades. By the end of , Ross "Dress for Less" stores were situated in Southern California and the first store beyond the state's borders--a store in Reno, Nevada--was opened, touching off a march across the map that in a few short years would extend the company's presence from coast to coast.
Early in , plans called for the establishment of 20 stores in California, Arizona, Washington, and Oregon, but by the end of the year Ross had opened twice as many, opening stores in California, Washington, Utah, Arizona, Texas, and Oklahoma. Much of the growth realized during the year was realized from the acquisition of 15 stores from the Handyman division of Edison Brothers Stores, which added Ross "Dress for Less" stores in Texas and Oklahoma.
The acquisition, completed in July, was concluded in the same month that Ross corporate headquarters were moved to a ,square-foot facility in Newark, California, that also served as the company's distribution center. From this location in Newark, the company's expansion would be plotted into the s, as the number of stores, each stocking a list of brand and designer names that rivaled most department stores and specialty stores, increased exponentially. Though its merchandise compared favorably with the selection offered by department stores and specialty stores, Ross charged substantially less than traditional retailers, selling its merchandise for as much as 60 percent below competitors' prices.
The enormous savings to be realized lured customers through Ross' stores, convincing management, in turn, that the only obstacle checking the company's financial growth was the number of stores it operated. More stores meant more revenue and greater profits, so Moldaw and Rowlett focused their efforts on expansion, making an initial public offering of stock in to help fund the opening of additional stores. At the time of the public offering, there were Ross "Dress for Less" stores, an impressive total given the company's total store count of six three years earlier, and an extensive operating territory the company could call its own.
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