| Ross Stores, Inc. | |
| Trade Name: | Ross Dress for Less |
| Type: | Public |
| Founder: | Morris Ross Bill Isackson |
| Num Locations: | |
| Key People: |
|
| Industry: | Retail |
| Products: | Clothing, footwear, bedding, bath, furniture, home decor, jewelry, beauty products, toys, appliances, housewares, and giftware. |
| Revenue: | (2018)[3] |
| Operating Income: | US$1.61 billion (2015) |
| Net Income: | US$1.02 billion (2015) |
| Assets: | US$4.87 billion (2015) |
| Equity: | US$2.47 billion (2015) |
| Num Employees: | 88,100 (2019) |
| Subsid: | dd's Discounts |
| Foundation: | 1950 Pacifica, California, U.S.[4] |
| Location City: | Dublin, California |
| Location Country: | U.S. |
| Footnotes: | [5] |
Ross Stores, Inc., operating under the brand name Ross Dress for Less, is an American chain of discount department stores headquartered in Dublin, California.[6] It is the largest off-price retailer in the U.S.; as of July 2024, Ross operates 1,795 stores in 43 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Guam,[7] covering much of the country, but with no presence in New England, Alaska, and areas of the Midwest.[8] The company also operates DD's Discounts, a discount department store chain with over 353 locations across the United States, most of which are located in Sun Belt states.[9]
Ross Department Store was first opened in San Bruno, California, in 1950 by Morris "Morrie" Ross. Morris would work 85 hours a week doing all of the buying and bookkeeping for his department store. In 1958 Ross sold his store to William Isackson to become a residential and commercial real estate developer.[10] Isackson built the company to six stores, located in San Bruno, Pacifica, Novato, Vacaville, Redwood City, and Castro Valley. In 1982 a group of investors, including Mervin Morris, founder of the Mervyn's chain of department stores, purchased the six Ross Department Stores in San Francisco, changed the format to off-price retail units, and within three years rapidly expanded the chain to 107 stores under Stuart Moldaw and Don Rowlett.[11] [12] By the end of 1995 the chain reached an annual sales of $1.4 billion with 292 stores in 18 states. By 2012 Ross reached $9.7 billion for the fiscal year with 1,091 stores in 33 states with an additional 108 for DD's Discounts in 8 states.[13] Ross moved its headquarters from Newark to Pleasanton, California, in the Tri-Valley area, in 2003.
Barbara Rentler took the place of CEO Michael Balmuth on June 1, 2014; she was the 25th female CEO of a Fortune 500 company.[14] Ross moved its headquarters from Pleasanton to neighboring Dublin, California, in 2014.[15]