Bob's planning expansion into Mid-Atlantic states
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, February 1, 2010
BALTIMORE —
Bob's Discount Furniture will open a 672,000-square-foot distribution center here this year as it prepares for expansion into the Mid-Atlantic states in 2011.
Ted English, CEO of the 35-store Manchester, Conn.-based Top 100 company, confirmed that Bob's has signed a lease for the building in Harford County, Md., in northern Baltimore and expects it to be operating some time in the second half of this year.
“We'll probably start opening (Mid-Atlantic stores) some time in 2011, but that distribution center will also support our current New Jersey markets as well,” he said.
A local Business Journal story reported that Bob's plans dozens of stores in the greater Baltimore area “in years to come,” but English said he doesn't know where that number came from and that it's too early to speculate on how many stores will open.
He did say, however, that the center will support expansion for Bob's as far south as Washington, D.C., and as far north as southern New Jersey.
“We haven't signed our first lease in that area so it's difficult to give an exact number, but certainly (we will add) several Bob's stores in those areas, and look forward to serving people in the Mid-Atlantic with our great Bob's values,” he said.
English would not disclose Bob's investment or project sales once it enters the new territory. He said 2009 was a “very strong year,” for the company despite the tough economic climate. He would not disclose exact sales but noted that the company added six stores and “passed the half billion dollar mark” in sales for the first time.
No. 16 on Furniture/Today's most recent Top 100, Bob's had estimated sales of $457.8 million in 2008. The Northeastern powerhouse operates stores in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island.
Bob's soon will be taxing the limits of its 1 million-square-foot distribution center in Taftville, Conn., English said. The company needs additional warehouse capacity for store expansion and it made sense to locate to the south of its current facility.
“It gives us a great opportunity to continue opening stores within our current footprint and expand into a new geography as well,” English said.
Bob's expects to open about six stores this year in its current Northeastern markets, he said. Its 36th showroom opens Feb. 11 in Nesconset, N.Y., on Long Island.
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UPDATE: Bob's Discount Furniture plans expansion
Jan 26, 2010
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