Ross Stores Similar Companies, Competitors and Alternatives In 2023

Ross Stores, Inc. is a company that owns and manages the brand, Ross Dress for Less. It is basically a chain of department stores that provides huge discounts on branded merchandise. Based in Dublin, CA, the company is the largest off-price product seller in the US, with over 1600 stores and counting. It has a healthy presence throughout the country, the District of Columbia, and Guam. It sells clothing and home fashion products, right from footwear and toys to furniture and mattresses.

The first outlet of Ross Stores was launched in 1950 by its namesake, Morris Ross, under the name Ross Department Store. However, he probably realized that his interests lay elsewhere, due to which he sold the store eight years later to start a real estate business. The new owner, Bill Isackson, didn’t take long to expand into other regions in California, building five more stores in a few years. Let us take a brief look at Ross Stores’ current statistics.

Name	Ross Stores
Founded	1950 (officially in 1982)
Headquarters	Dublin, CA, US
SIC Code	5311
Status	Public, Independent Company
Industry Sector	Retail
Employees	93,700
Trading Symbol	Nasdaq: ROST

How Ross Stores makes Money

Ross Stores is an off-price retailer. It means that the company purchases those branded products that have been produced in excess, directly from the manufacturer. Such bulk purchases of over-produced items are available at a much less price than the going rate. Thus, Ross Stores can easily make a profit out of selling these products for huge discounts. It’s a win-win for all the three entities involved – the manufacturer, Ross Stores, and the customer who gets branded merchandise for a bargain.

Retail / Off-Price

Ross Stores may not be a giant in the vast retail industry, but it is definitely the leading horse in the off-price market. The company adopted this off-price business model after Bill Isackson sold it to Mervin Morris of Mervyn’s department stores. And indeed, Ross Stores saw rapid development in the ‘80s and the ‘90s, with their crossing the $1 billion mark. Today, the company pockets an income of $2.33 billion, at par with many other retail giants.

Companies Similar to Ross Stores

Ross Stores provides some really appealing discounts on some really attractive merchandise. It’s not without good reason that the company generates revenue of over $12.5 billion. Have you checked out their subsidiary, dd’s Discounts? Did not like it as well? Fret not, for we have just the right alternatives for you.

Competitors to Ross Stores

The biggest rivals to Ross Stores are TJ Maxx, Burlington, Nordstrom Rack, Saks Off 5th, and Kohl’s. You might have tried out a few of these already, but look at them from our unique perspective today. Let’s discuss Ross Stores’ similar companies in more detail.

TJ Maxx

TJ Maxx is an international department store chain headquartered in Framingham, MA. It is a subsidiary of TJX Companies that generates its revenue by selling off-price products. It is active throughout the US and Canada, but in the UK, it had to conduct business under a different name (TK Maxx) to avoid confusion and clashes with its established retailer, T. J. Hughes. TJ Maxx is known for offering almost the same category of products as Ross Stores at amazingly attractive prices.

Retail / Off-Price

The beginnings of TJ Maxx in the retail industry can be traced back to 1976. Zayre started this off-price chain to compete with Marshalls, a local rival. The strategy was so successful that they changed the parent company’s name to TJX and even acquired Marshalls by the mid-1990s. Today, TJ Maxx has over a thousand stores spread across the US, with a net income of $3.28 billion. It is also considered to be one of the most pocket-friendly retailers in the off-price market!

Annual Revenue	Funding	Headquarters	Employees
$41.7B	Undisclosed	Framingham, MA	320,000

Burlington

The brand, Burlington, is not to be confused with the town in Massachusetts or the city in Canada. Burlington is an off-price department store chain based in Burlington, NJ. What! Not to confuse you more, but there’s a city named Burlington in Vermont as well. Anyway, Burlington, the retailer, is owned by the Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation. We know how you feel, reading about so many Burlington. Imagine us writing about these, and there’s more!

Retail / Off-Price

Burlington, the retailer, was founded in 1972 as the Burlington Coat Factory by Monroe Milstein. As the name suggests, he sold only coats and jackets in the early years. The company didn’t become an off-price department store until many years later. Today, Burlington has over 760 outlets throughout the US, and its operating income amounts to $481 million. This publicly-traded company deals not only in clothing, but also in furniture, home fashion, and pet supplies.

Annual Revenue	Funding	Headquarters	Employees
$7.2B	Undisclosed	Burlington, NJ	44,000

Nordstrom Rack

Nordstrom Rack is the off-price division of the popular luxury brand, Nordstrom. It started off as a full-line clearance outlet in 1973 until it grew into an exclusive off-price department store in the later years. Today, Nordstrom Rack has become almost as in demand as Nordstrom, generating a fifth of its parent company’s total income of $600 million. Rumors are ripe that Nordstrom is contemplating making this off-price division into an entirely separate company!

Retail / Off-Price

Nordstrom Rack retails in almost everything that Ross Stores does, ranging from apparel and footwear to beauty products and home decor. Its over-produced items usually come from its parent company, just like Uber Eats uses its parent company, Uber’s fleet of vehicles for delivery. Nordstrom Rack has more than 350 locations in the US and Canada. The Canadian stores were opened only recently (post 2018). Did you know that the company has generated over $2.5 billion in sales since 2013?

Annual Revenue	Funding	Headquarters	Employees
$5.2B	$675M (Nordstrom)	Seattle, WA	71,000

Saks Off 5th

Saks Off 5th is another off-price department store that is a division of the luxury brand, Saks Fifth Avenue. The company’s history is no different from Nordstrom Rack’s. Saks Off 5th kicked off in 1990 as a clearance store and eventually grew into a multimillion-dollar off-price chain. And again, similarly, its discounted, over-produced items are taken from Saks Fifth Avenue. Since its inception, Saks Off 5th has grown in a steady, methodical manner. It first established its presence throughout the US before marching into international waters.

Retail / Off-Price

Saks Off 5th off-price business model follows a pattern similar to that of Ross Stores. The only difference is that it doesn’t need to literally purchase the products since they come from its sister company, Saks Fifth Avenue, itself. Indeed, this off-price retail market has benefited many luxury stores over the years. Saks Off 5th has 102 stores across the US and Canada, and it is quite a profitable company. However, its parent organization, the Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), has planned to close a few of the US-based stores in an attempt to cut costs.

Annual Revenue	Funding	Headquarters	Employees
$250M	$200M	New York City, NY	200

Kohl’s

With Kohl’s, we swim out of the pool of off-price stores and dive into the ocean of discount department stores. Kohl’s is THE largest department store chain in the US. Period. And it provides a number of attractive discounts on its products from time to time, so it definitely deserves a place on this list. The company was founded in 1962 by its namesake, Maxwell Kohl. In fact, it grew from a grocery store chain in 1927 to a full-fledged department store in ‘62.

Retail

Kohl’s is a publicly-traded company with an operating income of over $262 million. It has more than 1100 outlets in every US state barring Hawaii. It is presently led by Michelle Gass as its director and CEO. Kohl’s stocks everything that Ross Stores does and more, including shoes and apparel, mattresses and furniture, home appliances, and consumer electronics. We have said it once and again, how huge the retail industry is. And Kohl’s ranks 23rd in the uncountable list of US retailers, which is quite a feat considering that it experienced its share of ups and downs.

Annual Revenue	Funding	Headquarters	Employees
$18B	Undisclosed	Menomonee Falls, WI	110,000

Conclusion

Ross Stores’ biggest competitor is TJ Maxx. Ross Stores may lie at the top of the heap in the US, but TJ Maxx governs the international off-price market. Its $41.7 billion revenue is much higher than that of Ross Stores. Almost every statistic of TJ Maxx is greater than Ross Stores’, and it is also moderately popular in the US, not unlike Wayfair, which is equally famous both internationally and locally. So before you visit any of the other competitors on this list, go try out the merchandise at TJ Maxx. It might just be to your liking!