Ross 2011 Annual Report Download - page 12

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10
PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS.
Ross Stores, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“we” or the “Company”) operate two brands of off-price retail apparel and home fashion
stores. At January 28, 2012, we operated a total of 1,125 stores, of which 1,037 were Ross Dress for Less® (“Ross”) locations
in 29 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam, and 88 were dd’s DISCOUNTS® stores in seven states. Both brands target
value-conscious women and men between the ages of 18 and 54. Ross target customers are primarily from middle income
households, while dd’s DISCOUNTS target customers are typically from more moderate income households. The decisions we
make, from merchandising, purchasing, and pricing, to the locations of our stores, are based on these customer profiles.
Ross offers first-quality, in-season, name brand and designer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions for the entire
family at everyday savings of 20% to 60% off department and specialty store regular prices. dd’s DISCOUNTS features a more
moderately-priced assortment of first-quality, in-season, name brand apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions for the
entire family at everyday savings of 20% to 70% off moderate department and discount store regular prices. We believe that
both Ross and dd’s DISCOUNTS derive a competitive advantage by offering a wide assortment of product within each of our
merchandise categories in organized and easy-to-shop store environments.
Our mission is to offer competitive values to our target customers by focusing on the following key strategic objectives:
• Maintain an appropriate level of recognizable brands, labels, and fashions at strong discounts throughout the store.
• Meet customer needs on a local basis.
• Deliver an in-store shopping experience that reflects the expectations of the off-price customer.
• Manage real estate growth to compete effectively across all our markets.
We refer to our fiscal years ended January 28, 2012, January 29, 2011, and January 30, 2010 as fiscal 2011, fiscal 2010,
and fiscal 2009, respectively.
Merchandising, Purchasing, and Pricing
We seek to provide our customers with a wide assortment of first-quality, in-season, brand name and designer apparel,
accessories, footwear, and home merchandise for the entire family at everyday savings of 20% to 60% below department and
specialty store regular prices at Ross, and 20% to 70% below moderate department and discount store regular prices at
dd’s DISCOUNTS. We sell recognizable brand name merchandise that is current and fashionable in each category. New
merchandise typically is received from three to six times per week at both Ross and dd’s DISCOUNTS stores. Our buyers review
their merchandise assortments on a weekly basis, enabling them to respond to selling trends and purchasing opportunities in the
market. Our merchandising strategy is reflected in our advertising, which emphasizes a strong value message. Our stores offer a
treasure-hunt shopping experience where customers can find great savings every day on a broad assortment of brand name
bargains for the family and the home.
Merchandising. Our merchandising strategy incorporates a combination of off-price buying techniques to purchase advance-
of-season, in-season, and past-season merchandise for both Ross and dd’s DISCOUNTS. We believe nationally recognized name
brands sold at compelling discounts will continue to be an important determinant of our success. We generally leave the brand
name label on the merchandise we sell.
We have established merchandise assortments that we believe are attractive to our target customers. Although we offer fewer
classifications of merchandise than most department stores, we generally offer a large selection of brand names within each
classification with a wide assortment of vendors, labels, prices, colors, styles, and fabrics within each size or item. The mix
of comparable store sales by department in fiscal 2011 was approximately as follows: Ladies 29%, Home Accents and Bed
and Bath 25%, Men’s 13%, Accessories, Lingerie, Fine Jewelry, and Fragrances 13%, Shoes 12%, and Children’s 8%. Our
merchandise offerings also include small furniture and furniture accents, educational toys and games, luggage, gourmet food
and cookware, watches, and sporting goods.