The national chain HomeGoods is feeling right at home in Westchester. HomeGoods, which sells home decor and furnishing products at discounted prices, opened its latest Westchester store in Port Chester May 22. That follows another recent opening in Pelham less than a month ago, on May 5.
HomeGoods is part of Framingham, Mass.-based TJX Cos. Inc. which also owns Marshalls and TJ Maxx stores.
The home-furnishing chain now has six locations in the county. The oldest one is in Yonkers at the Cross County Shopping Center, which opened its doors in 2000. The other stores are in Somers, New Rochelle and White Plains.
The Port Chester HomeGoods employs 60 full- and part-time workers at its 25,000-square-foot store on Boston Post Road, according to TJX Cos. spokesperson Doreen Thompson.
Commenting on its expansion in Westchester, she said that “We are always assessing and reviewing our real estate strategies. The decision to locate HomeGoods in Port Chester is in line with that thinking. We believe value is here to stay and customers seeking our excellent values will welcome HomeGoods into their community.”
HomeGoods President Richard Sherr said, “We are excited to bring HomeGoods and our off-price concept to Port Chester area shoppers. Consumers are more value-conscious than ever and we know that our new store will be a welcome addition.”
And it may not be done expanding yet. According to Mark Montagna, a retail analyst at Avondale Partners based in Nashville, Tenn., HomeGoods had 336 stores at the end of last year. “And they say they can get to 550 to 600 stores. So there is still a lot more growth to go,” he said.
In the first quarter of 2011, HomeGoods saw its sales increase 10 percent to $503 million compared to the same period last year.
HomeGoods sells home-related products ”“ everything from bedding to pillows to towels, wall art, furniture and kitchenware ”“ at a discount of 20-to-60 percent. Its target consumers are department store and home-related specialty store shoppers. “So they would be competing against Macy”™s, Williams-Sonoma and Bed Bath & Beyond. Those are really key competitors that they have,” according to Montagna.
Montagna, who tracks HomeGoods and other national retailers, said the home-related products are selling very well nationwide. “Whether it”™s at HomeGoods, Williams-Sonoma or Bed, Bath & Beyond, or Macy”™s, everybody is doing really well with home-related merchandise. So, it”™s been a growth area,” he said.
Discount retail stores like HomeGoods have been performing especially well in recent years, thanks to consumers looking for bargain deals even as they open up their wallets in the current economy. “If you look at TJX Cos. in particular, with their HomeGoods section, their stores are hitting a higher profitability than people had expected just two years ago. So these stores are doing very well,” the analyst observed.
He added that there”™s been strong demand for their products, “and also in a tough economy, consumers recognize the value that these stores offer. And they are doing a fantastic job ”“ they are one of the best: TJX Cos. is one of the best-run retailers, period. I mean, they are at the top of the heap in terms of how well they run their business.”
HomeGoods is also very good at real estate selections, Montagna said, “so I am sure that every location they have chosen in Westchester has done well. You know, there is just so much traffic and congestion in Westchester ”“ you can have a lot of these stores because you have the right density of people.”
