Ollie's Bargain Outlet will take over former Hastings spot in Richmond

RICHMOND, Ind. — A prominent storefront at the Gateway Shopping Plaza that has sat vacant for four years should be back in use late this winter. And that will mean dozens of new jobs in Richmond, too.

National retail chain Ollie's Bargain Outlet plans to open a new store at 4601 National Road E., the former home of Hastings. The current timeline for remodeling the location has the store opening in February.

"As we were looking to expand westward, (Richmond) looked like a great market. It had a lot of the types of customers that we typically sell to, so we wanted to open up a store there," said Tom Kuypers, senior vice president for marketing and advertising for Ollie's.

The chain typically employs 40-50 people at each of its locations. It currently has more than 360 locations in 25 different states.

"It's a different retail concept. We sell closeout, overruns, buyouts where people can get some really great deals," Kuypers said.

Like a typical department store, Ollie's sells brand-name items across several categories, including clothing, electronics, toys, furniture, sporting goods and more. What makes the chain stand apart is that it buys excess inventory that then can be sold at lower prices.

"If a manufacturer makes too much of an item or changes their packaging, Ollie’s will buy the overstocked or old packaged items. So, you will always find famous brand-name products at Ollie’s, but a lot of them could be last year’s colors, patterns or packaging that traditional retailers won’t sell," the company's website says.

The novel coronavirus pandemic hasn't slowed the company's expansion plans much. Some 18 stores in 11 states have opened recently and two others will be ready to go later this month.

"We've been a lot more careful in terms of how we are opening within our markets, but because we do sell food, cleaning supplies, over-the-counter medications, we wanted to continue to offer those deals to the public, especially as the pandemic has really put a strain on people's pocketbooks," Kuypers said.

The closest stores to Richmond at this point are in Muncie and Anderson in Indiana and Dayton, Sidney and Cincinnati in Ohio.

Ollie's will take over the former home of Hastings, which has been empty since 2016 went the company went bankrupt. Before that, the location was an Odd Lots store.

Jason Truitt is the team leader and senior reporter at the Palladium-Item. Contact him at 765-973-4459 or jtruitt@pal-item.com.