Eric van der Valk, president and CEO of Ollie’s, is pictured.

The collapse of some retail outlets is helping fuel Ollie’s continued expansion.

As mall-based retailers and some big box retailers – including Big Lots, which closed its Jamestown location in 2024- go bankrupt, Ollie’s is reaping the financial benefits.

The company, which has locations in Jamestown, Dunkirk and Warren, announced a 17.5% net sales increase in the second quarter of the 2025 financial year to $679.6 million, driven by new store unit growth and an increase in comparable store sales.

Comparable store sales increased 5%, driven by an increase in transactions. Rob Heim, Ollie’s executive vice president and CFO, said the company’s top five performing categories were lawn and garden, hardware, food, housewares and domestics.

Pre-opening expenses increased $4.4 million to $9 million, driven by new store growth and $2.3 million of dark rent expenses associated with the former Big Lots locations that were acquired through the bankruptcy auction process.

“With so many retailers closing stores or going bankrupt in the past year, there is an opportunity to gain market share through expanding our footprint, acquiring new customers and turning these customers into loyal Ollie’s Army members,” said Eric van der Valk, Ollie’s president and CEO in a conference call with investor analysts. “This is our flywheel, our formula for growth, and we are all over it. Everyone loves a bargain, and it’s our mandate to bring great deals to consumers from coast to coast. We have a tremendous opportunity ahead to continue opening new stores and gain market share. This is not growth at any cost, however. We are committed to profitable growth, and we are able to do this through a flexible store model that can be adapted to generate strong returns across different geographies,demographics and store spaces.”

Adjusted EBITDA increased 26% to $93.8 million. Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization, is a metric used to assess a company’s operating performance and profitability by excluding non-operating expenses and non-cash charges like interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It provides a clearer view of a company’s core operational cash flow.

Ollie’s is increasing its previously provided sales and earnings outlook for fiscal 2025. The new sales and earnings outlook includes 10 additional new store openings for a total of 85 in 2025, adjusted net income from the previously announced $225 million to $232 million range to a new projected net income of between $233 million to $237 million.

“We are committed to delivering double-digit annual unit growth moving forward and have invested in the necessary people and process to deliver this,” van der Valk said. “The bankruptcy filing and subsequent store closures of a number of retailers over the past year have provided a unique opportunity to pick up additional stores that are well suited for our business model. The team has done an excellent job prioritizing the opening of these locations while advancing our pipeline of organic store openings, and we are ahead of plan for the first half. As a result, we are raising our new store target and now expect to open an additional 10 stores for a total of 85 this year.”

Ollie’s celebrated its 43rd year in business in July, opening its first store in Mechanicsburg, Pa., in July 1982. It is also marking its 10th year as a public company.