By Aimee Chanthadavong
The Reject Shop continues to grow its store footprint with the opening of its 300th store in Rockdale, New South Wales.
The Victoria-based discount chain has opened a total of 41 stores in the 2013 financial year with a further 40 stores slated for the current financial year.
Since listing on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2004, The Reject Shop has grown from a store base of 101 stores, employing 1900 staff and a market capitalisation of $48.2 million to a network of more than 300 stores, 5,920 staff and a market capitalisation of more than $500 million.
Managing director Chris Bryce said the opening reflects the company’s confidence in its retail model and the discount variety sector.
“The 2013 year has been a period of major growth for our company with the opening of 41 new stores, a company record. Our store footprint is destined to grow even further with a forecast 40 store openings in the current financial year,” he said.
“Our expanded store footprint places us in a strong position to take advantage of any uplift in consumer confidence. Our new stores are performing extremely well which demonstrates the appeal of our diverse product offering and the opportunity to make real savings on everyday items.”
By the end of FY2014, The Reject Shop expects to have opened in excess of 80 stores in less than two years, investing in excess of $40 million in capital expenditure in store fixtures, IT and distribution centre infrastructure.
Further growth into the West Australian market will be supported with a new distribution centre planned to be operational in the state by June 2014.