Overview
Ross Stores, Inc. is a U.S. off-price retailer of apparel and home fashions. It operates two chains: Ross Dress for Less, which sells clothing, footwear, accessories and home fashions, and dd’s DISCOUNTS, which offers a more moderately priced assortment. The company’s mission is to offer competitive value to its target customers through recognizable brands at discounted prices and an off-price shopping experience.[1][2][3]
Headquartered in Dublin, California, Ross operates primarily in the United States and also has stores in Washington, D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico. As of January 31, 2026, it operated 1,904 Ross Dress for Less stores and 363 dd’s DISCOUNTS stores. Sales for the year then ended were approximately $22.8 billion, and the company employed approximately 111,000 full- and part-time associates.[4][1][2][5][6] [1][2][3][5][6][4]
Products & services
Ross Stores sells first-quality, in-season apparel, footwear, accessories and home merchandise through Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS. Its assortment includes home accents and furniture, bedding and bath products, beauty products, toys, gourmet food, luggage, electronics, pet accessories, jewelry, watches and cookware. Ross carries name-brand and designer merchandise, while dd’s DISCOUNTS offers a more moderately priced assortment.[7][8]
In fiscal 2024, home accents and bed and bath accounted for 26% of sales; ladies’ merchandise, 22%; men’s, 16%; accessories, lingerie, fine jewelry and cosmetics, 15%; shoes, 12%; and children’s merchandise, 9%. These are company-wide figures rather than separate mixes for the two chains.[9] The stores provide fitting rooms and merchandise returns, and Ross also sells physical and virtual gift cards online.[10][11] [7][8][9][9][9][9][9][9][10][11]
Geographic presence
Ross Stores’ retail operations are concentrated in the United States and Guam. As of February 1, 2025, it operated 1,831 Ross Dress for Less stores across 43 states, Washington, D.C., and Guam, and 355 dd’s DISCOUNTS stores across 22 states. California, Texas, and Florida together accounted for almost half of its stores. The company reports its off-price retail operations as one segment and does not disclose a geographic revenue split.[8][12][13]
Ross Stores is headquartered in California, which also contains approximately 22% of its stores and more than half of its distribution-center and warehouse capacity. Its facilities extend to Arizona, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas, and it has buying offices in Los Angeles, Boston, and New York. More than 85% of its approximately 107,000 associates worked in retail stores as of February 1, 2025; a geographic employee breakdown is not disclosed.[12][14][15][16] [8][12][13][14][15][16]
Business segments
Ross Stores has two operating segments, Ross Dress for Less and dd’s DISCOUNTS, which it combines into one reportable segment because they have similar economic and other qualitative characteristics. Both are U.S. off-price retail chains; the company does not disclose revenue separately for the two banners, so their percentage contributions to sales cannot be determined from its segment reporting.[17][18]
Ross Dress for Less focuses on branded and designer apparel, footwear, accessories, and home fashions, primarily for middle-income households. dd’s DISCOUNTS offers a more moderately priced assortment aimed at lower-to-moderate-income households. At the end of fiscal 2025, Ross operated 1,904 stores and dd’s operated 363—approximately 84% and 16%, respectively, of the combined 2,267-store footprint. These percentages describe store counts, not sales.[19][1][2][20] [17][18][19][1][2][20][20][20]
Company history
Ross Stores traces its roots to a department store established by Morris Ross in San Bruno, California, in 1950. The modern off-price chain began in August 1982, when six Bay Area junior department stores were acquired and converted to the Ross Dress for Less format. Stuart Moldaw was a founder of the off-price business and served as its board chairman from 1982 to 1993.[21][22][23]
Ross Stores went public in August 1985 and had grown to 121 stores across 16 states by the end of fiscal 1986. In 2004, it introduced dd’s DISCOUNTS as a second off-price retail concept, opening its first three stores in California. Barbara Rentler succeeded Michael Balmuth as chief executive in 2014; James Conroy succeeded Rentler in 2025.[22][24][25][26] [21][22][23][24][25][26]
Sources
- ROSS STORES, INC. — Full financial report (2026 Y)
- investors.rossstores.com[4]
- ROSS STORES, INC. — Full financial report (2025 Y)
- www.rossstores.com[11]
- www.sfgate.com[21]
- investors.rossstores.com[22]
- investors.rossstores.com[23]
- investors.rossstores.com[24]
- investors.rossstores.com[25]
- investors.rossstores.com[26]
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