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BRUCE ASATO / basato@staradvertiser.com
Ross Dress for Less stores in Moiliili and Ewa Beach are the newest additions on Oahu.
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Ross Stores Inc. is opening Friday in Moiliili and Ewa Beach.
The Pleasanton, Calif.-based discount chain will begin operating at the former Longs Drugs site at 2220 S. King St. and at the Laulani Village Shopping Center, a 218,000-square-foot complex that opened in Ewa last year at 91-1085 Keaunui Drive.
The Ross Dress for Less stores measure roughly 30,000 square feet each and together will employ about 100 people. The company doesn’t disclose how much it invests in its stores. The expansion brings the number of Hawaii stores to 15, a spokeswoman said, with 12 on Oahu.
"The volume in Hawaii is significantly more than … on the mainland," said Kim Scoggins, vice president of retail and investments at Colliers International. "Ross recognized that right away, and they were able to get in and secure locations in the marketplace. They’ve covered the market so it’s going to be difficult for other retailers to get in and expand."
Ross, which operates more than 1,000 stores in 33 states, first opened in Hawaii in 1993. The company significantly expanded when it bought leasehold rights to six locations from the parent company of rival T.J. Maxx when it left the islands in 1996. T.J. Maxx re-entered the Hawaii market in May when it opened three new stores, two of them just blocks away from Ross outlets.
