Ross Dress for Less opens first Long Island location in Hempstead

Ross Dress for Less, the largest off-price clothing and home goods retailer in the United States, has entered the Long Island market, opening a store in Hempstead.

The chain store opened last week in the Hempstead Village Commons, which also houses an Aldi grocery store and another off-price retail store, T.J. Maxx.

It opened along with 27 other new Ross stores across the United States and is part of the retailer’s plans to expand into new markets with 80 new Ross stores and 10 DD’s Discounts — the company's sister chain — during the next fiscal year, the company said in a news release.

The store’s main competition includes its new Hempstead neighbor T.J. Maxx, as well as Marshalls and Burlington, according to Morningstar Research Services LLC, a financial services firm in Chicago.

The Dublin, California-based Ross Dress for Less opened its first store in 1982. The store sells brand-name clothing, home decor and lifestyle items for bargain prices and has 1,873 stores across 44 states, Washington, D.C., and Guam, according to the company’s website.

The company reported a net income of $479 million for first-quarter 2025, down from $488 million last year. Sales for the first quarter of 2025 were $5 billion.

The store's corporate headquarters could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.

The company's stock closed at $136.44 Thursday afternoon, down from $142.09 a year earlier, according to Yahoo Finance.

The company addressed ongoing tariff concerns in its May 22 earnings call.

“While we directly import only a small portion of our merchandise, more than half of the total merchandise that we sell originates in China,” CEO Jim Conroy said during the call. He added the group may see short-term negative impacts on profitability.

Despite tariff uncertainty, the company remains in strong financial standing and has a 30% market share, according to a report by analyst Jaime Katz, of Morningstar.

“Tariffs could result in higher prices for apparel and consequently result in lower consumer demand,” she wrote, adding the store wouldn't struggle since its product costs are well below full-price stores.

Katz added in the report that competitor off-price stores should fare similarly.