Big Box Outlet Store, Western Canada’s leading liquidator, is continuing to expand its retail footprint.
Jeff Driedger, President of the company, said the brand just opened its 19th location in Sherwood Park, Alberta.
“We have our 20th under construction right now in Lethbridge. It will be opening later in the summer,” he said.
“In just over a year, we’ve gone from 11 to soon to be 20 locations.”
All locations are in Alberta and British Columbia.
“A lot of those expansion locations have been in Alberta. We’ve opened five new locations in Alberta. We’ve been opening stores in BC as well. We opened three new locations in BC during that time.
“We’re talking to a few landlords. We’ll see what happens. We want to continue to grow. We think eventually there’s room in the market for 40 locations for us in Western Canada and eventually we want to be a national player.”
The company has its head office in Abbotsford, BC.
The typical size of a store is 15,000 to 20,000 square feet. Some stores are a little bit smaller and some a little bit larger.
The first store opened 39 years ago.
“We grew slowly for a bit and have taken off in the last year or so,” said Driedger.
Big Box Outlet Store offers a wide range of products from around the world, including new, manufacturer-direct, seasonal closeout, refurbished, and open-box items. Its selection includes electronics, fashion, outdoor gear, hardware, kitchenware, appliances, furniture, and even groceries.
Formally known as MTF Price Matters, Big Box Outlet Store has been family-owned by the Funk’s since 1985. The core of the brand has kept focus ever since on finding brand name items through its reverse logistics purchasing channels, in order to sell products to customers at heavily discounted prices.
“Our mission is to help people afford everyday life,” said Driedger. “And we think particularly in this economic cycle people’s budgets are stretched, they’ve seen inflationary pricing have a big impact on their pocketbooks and they’re looking to save some money. And we’re part of that solution. We really do believe in that mission and that is what kind of excites us to grow our company.
“Generally speaking we do better in suburban locations than urban locations. Part of that is the size of the location that we’re looking for as well. They tend to be more prevalent in suburban locations but a lot of our customer base would be families and so in those areas where families tend to live, those suburban areas. But we serve a pretty diverse customer group overall.
“Sometimes it’s difficult for people to understand what it is that we do because we’re a discounter but you will find brands in our stores. So you’re not necessarily what you might see in a Dollar Store or you might see in a liquidator. You really will find brand name products at better prices. We sell almost 50 categories, everything from grocery to furniture to large appliances, outdoor recreation gear. If you look at our assortment, it’s really quite unique.”
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