Schenectady, N.Y., January 4, 2007 — City and County officials today announced that Ocean State Job Lot, a leading retail chain with more than 80 stores in New England, will open its newest store at the Crosstown Plaza on Route 7 in Schenectady County.
“Our smart growth polices focus on utilizing existing vacant space. Last year, we announced a new owner for St. James Square in Niskayuna and now we are excited about the fact that Ocean State Job Lot has signed a lease for 25,000 square feet of vacant space at Crosstown Plaza. This project will add jobs, sales tax and bring a new retail option to local consumers,” said Susan E. Savage Chair of the Schenectady County Legislature.
Mayor Brian U. Stratton said, “We are pleased with the success of Crosstown Plaza and we welcome Ocean State Job Lot to Schenectady. This major retailer has already opened a store in Saratoga County and we are very pleased that they selected Schenectady for their second location in New York State.”
Ocean State Job Lot was founded in 1977. The company is headquartered in the “Ocean State” of Rhode Island and operates 81 stores in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and New York.
The new Schenectady store will create approximately 70 full and part-time jobs. Company wide, Ocean State Job Lot employs more than 3,000 with annual sales exceeding $350 million.
Marc Perlman Co-founder and CEO said, “We have been trading with our customers in New England for twenty–nine years and we have been received warmly by our new customers in Ballston Spa. We are looking forward to making friends in Schenectady when we open for business this spring.”
The company features “Adventure Shopping” inviting consumers to visit frequently to take advantage of discounts on merchandise that surpass savings available in traditional retail stores. Ocean State Job Lot offers savings to shoppers by scouring the world for brand name items that the company buys in large lots and then delivers to their retail stores to share these savings with loyal customers. The company has a 1 million square foot distribution center in Rhode Island that allows it to purchase brand name items in large quantities and ship items quickly to stores located in Northeastern states.
Crosstown Plaza is owned by the Robert Lupe family. Shelley Lupe co-owner said, “We are pleased to have signed Ocean State Job Lot. We believe that their exciting approach to retail will create additional opportunities and traffic for our other tenants.”
The company plans to open the new store in March of 2007.
More information may be obtained at www.oceanstatejoblot.com.