‘Good stuff cheap’

Oliver Rosenberg was cheap.

A successful commercial real-estate broker, “Ollie,” was so cheap, in fact, that he always bought used cars, the kind we call clunkers, and drove them until they died. And he often could be spotted at high-profile events not in a suit and tie but an old Ollie’s Windbreaker, his thinning hair secured with bobby pins.

His desire for a deal inspired Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, which will make its Charlotte-area debut Feb. 24 with the opening of a store in Matthews. The store, in the Matthews Corners shopping center at 2308 Matthews Township Parkway, will fill the space left vacant when Linens ‘N’ Things went bankrupt. The Harrisburg, Pa.-based company, which opened in 1982 and has stores in eight states including six already in North Carolina, is planning to open a Mooresville location in early April. A caricature of Ollie, who died in 1996 at age 76, serves as the stores’ mascot. The company’s motto? “Good stuff cheap.”

“Ollie was as much a character in person as he is in the cartoon. He knew the word cheap,” said 51-year-old Mark Butler, one of four Ollie’s founders and current company president.

The company’s move to Matthews is a welcome site, Mayor Jim Taylor said.

“It’s wonderful that we’re able to utilize an existing facility rather than build something new. Nobody wants to see empty boxes,” he said. “To me, it’s just another example of how the marketplace is viewing Matthews as a thriving place to come and set up shop.”

Ollie’s buys closeout, surplus and salvage merchandise from brand names including Rubbermaid, Ekco, Mattel and Igloo. The store stocks housewares, books, toys and sporting goods, among other surprises.

Last year Ollie’s bought about 400,000 pairs of Crocs brand shoes that the company wanted to unload; Ollie’s sold the retail-priced $29.99 shoes to customers for $9.99. “That’s the kind of deal where mothers come in and call their friends on cell phones,” Butler said, laughing.

One of the largest deals in Ollie’s history happened just last year with, ironically, a bankrupt Linens ‘N’ Things, Butler said. The company bought more than $5 million worth of Paula Deen cookware.

And when Ollie’s opens where Linens ‘N’ Things used to be, they’ll likely have the cookware to sell – at 40 to 60 percent off the Linens ‘N’ Things price, Butler said. “You never know what you’re going to find,” he said.

Butler added that what you won’t find is the same merchandise weeks in a row. “When a deal is gone, a deal is gone,” he said.

Like other discount stores during the recession, Ollie’s is coming off its most successful year ever, Butler said, noting Ollie’s opened 13 new locations in 2009. The chain has 81 stores total.

“Our business is booming. America not only loves a bargain, but now they need a bargain,” he said. “Every segment of the population and every demographic now come to see what we may or may not have. Just to be in a former Linens ‘N’ Things space … previously we may not (have been) attractive to these landlords and all of a sudden we’re the ones doing well. Fortunately, we’re one of the few companies that are still having fun.”

Want to go?

Olllie’s Bargain Outlet, 2308 Matthews Township Parkway, will host a grand-­opening ceremony at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24.