P.C. Richard Entering Philly, Expanding In New England

By Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 1/27/2010

Farmingdale, N.Y. - P.C. Richard & Son will open its first Philadelphia-area stores and may add upward of five Connecticut locations this year as part of a planned expansion that could extend its reach from Delaware to Massachusetts.


It also opened seven stores last year, including its first Connecticut location, in Norwalk.

The Connecticut build-out will continue with the opening in late March or early April of a former Linens n Things store in Milford, followed by the opening of a former Circuit City site in North Haven.

According to president Gregg Richard, the company plans to have four stores in Connecticut within the next four months and as many as six by year's end. Although the state-wide expansion was planned long before Bernie's filed for bankruptcy, the impending closure of the regional CE and appliance chain has accelerated P.C. Richard's timetable.

"We're looking very hard at Connecticut," Richard told TWICE.

The chain is also scouting locations for distribution centers that would support its Connecticut and Philadelphia-area stores. The latter facility would also feed existing stores in nearby Lawrenceville and Mt. Laurel, N.J., as well as a future expansion into Delaware.

In New England, the company is also considering moving beyond Connecticut into Rhode Island and eventually Massachusetts, Richard said.

"We're in good position to take advantage of opportunities," he noted, after spending the last three years fortifying the company's systems and infrastructure, and remodeling all 57 stores. "We got our house in order and built a bench for the next wave."