New Ross spin-off will make TX debut in vacated Albertsons

by Teresa Gubbins

DALLAS — The Albertsons stores that closed in February and were purchased by Ross Stores will reopen as early as July -- some as dd's Discounts, a new concept created by Ross that caters to lowest-income consumers.

Four dd's Discounts are scheduled to open in Texas in early July, although a Ross spokesperson was unable to identify which former Albertsons sites would house the new Ross concept.

Stores which do not become dd's will be transformed into regular Ross Dress For Less stores. A second round of Albertsons will be transformed into Ross stores by October.

dd's Discounts, which has even cheaper discounts than those offered by the already-discounty Ross, carries a similar range of products as Ross stores, including clothes and household items. Most existing dd's stores are 27,000 square feet and located in urban or suburban areas with a high concentration of lower-income households.

There are currently 26 dd's Discounts, all located in California. The Texas stores are part of a plan recently announced by Ross president and CEO Michael Balmuth to add 27 new dd's Discounts stores in Arizona, Texas, and Florida.

Ross acquired 46 former Albertsons locations. Balmuth said that Ross will open 40 new stores in those sites, with half becoming Ross Dress for Less and the other half dd's.