Ross Stores

Ross Stores, Inc., operating under the brand name Ross Dress for Less, is an American chain of discount department stores headquartered in Dublin, California.[6] It is the largest off-price retailer in the U.S.; as of July 2024, Ross operates 1,795 stores in 43 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. Puerto Rico and Guam,[7] covering much of the country, but with no presence in New England and Alaska.[8] The company also operates DD's Discounts, a discount department store chain with over 353 locations across the United States, most of which are located in Sun Belt states.[9]

History

Ross Department Store was first opened in San Bruno, California, in 1950 by Morris "Morrie" Ross. Morris would work 85 hours a week doing all of the buying and bookkeeping for his department store. In 1958 Ross sold his store to William Isackson to become a residential and commercial real estate developer.[10] Isackson built the company to six stores in the San Francisco Bay Area, located in San Bruno, Pacifica, Novato, Vacaville, Redwood City, and Castro Valley. In 1982 a group of investors, including Mervin Morris, founder of the Mervyn's chain of department stores, purchased the six Ross Department Stores, changed the format to off-price retail units, and within three years rapidly expanded the chain to 107 stores under Stuart Moldaw and Don Rowlett.[11][12]

On August 8, 1985, Ross Stores, Inc. became a public company via an initial public offering, at an initial price of $17.00 per share. Ross Stores trades on Nasdaq's large-cap Global Select Market under the symbol "ROST", and is a component of the Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500 indices.[13]

By the end of 1995, the chain reached an annual sales of $1.4 billion with 292 stores in 18 states. By 2012, Ross reached $9.7 billion for the fiscal year with 1,091 stores in 33 states with an additional 108 for DD's Discounts in 8 states.[14] Ross moved its headquarters from Newark, California, to Pleasanton, California, in the Tri-Valley area, in 2003.

Barbara Rentler took the place of CEO Michael Balmuth on June 1, 2014; she was the 25th female CEO of a Fortune 500 company.[15] Ross moved its headquarters from Pleasanton to neighboring Dublin, California, in 2014.[16]

On October 28, 2024, the company's board of directors appointed James Conroy as the new CEO, succeeding Barbara Rentler effective February 2, 2025.[17] Conroy previously was CEO of Boot Barn.

In 2025, Ross Dress for Less expanded into Puerto Rico.

See also

• Burlington
• Marshalls
• Target
• TJ Maxx
• Walmart

External links

• Official website