Ross Stores, Inc.
Acquisitions
1
Major Deals Covered
This page covers 1 major deal, each with its price where disclosed and the reason behind it.
| Company | Year | Price | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Six-store Ross department store chain | 1982 | Undisclosed | An investor group including Stuart Moldaw and Don Rowlett bought the six Bay Area Ross stores to convert them to an off-price format. |
1982
An investor group including Stuart Moldaw and Don Rowlett bought the six Bay Area Ross stores to convert them to an off-price format.
The purchase created the Ross Dress for Less business that went public in 1985.
Ross has grown mainly by opening its own stores since then rather than buying other retailers.
Growth comes mainly from new stores and comparable store sales. Ross raised its 2026 opening plan to 115 locations after opening 64 in the first half. Under CEO Jim Conroy, the company has added marketing, brand-forward merchandise and in-store experience changes, and management credits traffic from both new and existing customers for the 2026 comp gains.
Ross earns nearly all revenue from in-store merchandise sales at Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS. More than 800 merchants buy branded apparel, footwear, home goods and accessories from manufacturer overruns, canceled orders and closeouts. Part of that buying is held as packaway inventory for later seasons. Stores are self-service with simple fixtures in strip centers, which keeps occupancy and labor costs low, and assortments change constantly so shoppers return often. Ross does not sell merchandise online.
Ross Stores avoids acquiring other retail companies or apparel brands, choosing an almost purely organic expansion model. Instead, Ross utilizes opportunistic M&A strictly in real estate: acquiring distressed retail store leases at bankruptcy auctions.
Following the 2008 liquidation of Mervyn's, Ross Stores acquired dozens of prime former Mervyn's store leases across California and the Southwest, subdividing the large boxes to open dozens of new Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS locations at bargain lease rates.
During the 2023 Bed Bath & Beyond bankruptcy lease auctions, Ross Stores aggressively acquired dozens of prime suburban strip-center store leases, enabling rapid, low-cost store openings in established retail power centers across the Midwest and East Coast.
The company's foundational acquisition was the August 1982 purchase of the six-store Ross Department Stores chain from founder Morris Ross for approximately $1.5 million by Stuart Moldaw and his investor syndicate.
While Wall Street occasionally speculated about a buyout of Burlington or Stein Mart, Ross leadership consistently declined, noting that inheriting misaligned store footprints, outdated leases, and legacy IT systems was far inferior to opening purpose-built Ross stores.
Ross frequently acquires vacated supermarket locations (from chains like Albertsons, Kroger, or Winn-Dixie), as former grocery boxes in neighborhood strip centers match Ross's ideal 22,000 to 25,000 square foot floorplan.
Ross finances all lease takeovers and store fit-outs using operational cash flow, maintaining a debt-free leasehold improvement structure that achieves capital payback within 18 to 24 months.
No. Ross does not buy garment factories or private-label fashion brands. It maintains pure retail neutrality, buying excess branded inventory from third-party manufacturers across the globe.
Ross actively manages its fleet: when a shopping center deteriorates or a better strip center opens nearby, Ross allows the lease to expire and relocates, closing only 10 to 15 underperforming stores annually while opening 90 to 100 new units.
No. Ross has never divested a division or brand. It operates strictly two concepts: Ross Dress for Less (launched 1982) and dd's DISCOUNTS (launched 2004).
Ross targets 20,000 to 30,000 square foot units in high-density suburban strip centers with strong anchor co-tenants (grocery, discounter), excellent street visibility, ample surface parking, and below-market long-term base rents.
Ross will continue its disciplined strategy of self-funded organic store growth, systematically snapping up retail leases from distressed regional retailers to march toward its 3,600-store national target.
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