Albemarle loses 1 bargain store, gains another

Published 4:27 pm Thursday, April 26, 2018

By Ritchie Starnes

News Editor

Bargain shoppers in Albemarle will lose one of its discount stores next month while ushering in a replacement retailer.

The Super 10 on East Main Street will officially close its doors at the end of May when its lease expires. However, plans call for its sister retail store, Roses Express, to open next month. In fact, Roses Express will open prior to the final day for Super 10, according to Tim Rinkes, district manager for Variety Wholesalers, parent company for Roses Express and Super 10.

Meanwhile, stock at Super 10 has been sharply reduced by as much as 70 percent off regular price.

Roses Express carries many of the same brands as Super 10. “It gives us a way to broaden our categories,” Rinkes said of the expanded stock at Roses Express compared to Super 10. “It has a more open concept with a brighter environment.”

Roses Express could host a soft opening as early as May 3. If the retailer is still lacking stock and the appropriate setup, then the soft opening will take place a week later on May 10. A grand opening will occur on May 31, Rinkes said.

Located at 720-10 N.C. Highway 24-27 Bypass, Roses Express will be housed in the 21,000-square-foot store where Burke’s Outlet called home before going out of business. Officials at Variety Wholesalers were initially considering the vacant space next door at the former God’s Country Outfitters until they learned Burke’s was closing. They concluded that space was more conducive to a Roses Express, Rinkes said.

Despite rumors that a Planet Fitness planned to occupy the former God’s Country, a spokesman at the corporate headquarters for the fitness company said Tuesday that Albemarle was not on its list for new openings.

A message left with the leasing company, Bell Moore Group, of Charlotte, was not returned.

Along with Roses Express and Super 10, other discount stores within the Variety Wholesalers network include Maxway, Roses, Bargain Town, Bill’s Dollar Store and Super Dollar.