By Dave Matlow
HomeGoods, an off-price store dedicated to home fashions, will open its doors to customers at 8 a.m. on Sunday on Westport’s Post Road East near the Fairfield town line.
HomeGoods opens Sunday on Post Road East near the Fairfield line in space formerly occupied by Toys ‘R’ Us. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
The opening of the 37,000-square-foot store in space formerly occupied by Toys ‘R’ Us is the second major retailing boost to Westport’s economy in a month. A similar-sized Crate & Barrel opened Aug. 21 a short distance away. (See WestportNow Aug. 21, 2008)
Established in 1992, HomeGoods is owned by Framingham, Mass.-based TJX Companies, which also owns T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and other branded stores.
The store located at Westport Plaza on Post Road near Bulkley Avenue is one of the three largest stores in the HomeGoods company which has outlets in more than 300 locations.
HomeGoods has hired store management and associates from the local area and expects to fill approximately 80 full and part-time positions, according to Robyn Arvedon, HomeGoods’ manager of public relations.
The store sells about 80,000 different items and will stock about 110,000 items over the holiday season, she said.
“And with deliveries five days a week, there will be something new in the store every day,” Arvedon said. “We have a ‘treasure hunt’ philosophy, with a small stock of the each item but a broad range of items.”
The store is the fifth HomeGoods in Fairfield County. Others are located in Danbury, Norwalk, Stamford and Trumbull.
Westport HomeGoods Store Manager Ed Pocoski and Public Relations Manager Robyn Arvedon check out the finishing touches of the 37,000 square foot store as it readies to open its doors to customers on Sunday at 8 a.m. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com
“We are not a discount store,” Arvedon said. “Our merchandise is what you find in specialty and department stores but is 20 percent to 60 percent less in price.”
She said economic tough times should boost sales as home furnishings become more important today because more people are going out less.
“Our target customer is the 24- to 55-year-old woman with children and is an income earner,” Arvedon said.
She said items in the store are priced from the low end to as high as $6,000.
