The Container Store to Open Six New Locations in 2012, Including Firsts in Las Vegas and Long Island; Test ATHOME Program

DALLAS, TX, February 06, 2012 (Press-News.org) The Container Store, the nation's originator and leading retailer of storage and organization products, today announced it will open six locations in 2012, making this the largest real estate growth year in the company's history and bringing the company's store count to 59 by year's end. The new stores will generate more than 400 jobs with additional job growth planned across other areas of the retailer's business.

The new stores will be located in Arlington, TX., Las Vegas, El Segundo, Calif., Peabody, MA., and Westbury, NY, with a sixth location still being finalized. For each new store, The Container Store will partner with a local nonprofit that will receive 10 percent of its grand opening weekend sales as part of the retailer's commitment to give back to its local communities.

"As we round out our fiscal year that's shaping up to be our most profitable in company history, we're thrilled to have six glorious new store locations planned for 2012 that will help sustain the incredible growth our brand and company is experiencing," said Kip Tindell, Chairman and CEO, The Container Store. "We've emerged from the recession as an even stronger company and our employees, customers and vendors are extremely proud of the way we conducted ourselves during that trying time not having resorted to layoffs or closing stores. I honestly feel it's because of this fierce pride in what we stand for as a company that we're experiencing the sales that we have over the past two years."

In addition to store expansion, some of The Container Store's other strategic initiatives for 2012 include a Dallas-area test of its new ATHome program, which will bring the retailer's 34 years of organization expertise and product knowledge into its customers homes. The retailer will also continue its focus on educating consumers and other businesses about the benefits and need for Conscious Capitalism, as well as The Container Store's principled way of doing business, through its blog at standfor.containerstore.com.

"Consumers are voting with their pocketbooks and they want to know they're doing business with a company that shares their same values. We're excited to engage our customers in conversations about our principled way of doing business on our blog," continued Tindell.

Additional details on each new store location are as follows:
The Arlington, TX, store will open on Sat., March 3 and occupy 23,056 square feet in Arlington Highlands (Northeast Corner of Matlock and Interstate 20). This will be the retailer's seventh location in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, where the company was founded in 1978. The Container Store has partnered with the Junior League of Arlington, an educational and charitable organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving the community through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers, for the grand opening.

The Las Vegas store, the first in Nevada, will open May 12 and occupy 22,000 square feet in the Las Vegas Town Square. The Container Store has partnered with the Junior League of Las Vegas for the grand opening.

The El Segundo, Calif., store will open June 16 and occupy 22,000 square feet in Plaza El Segundo. This will be the retailer's fourth Los Angeles-area location where it currently operates stores in Century City, Costa Mesa and Pasadena. The retailer has partnered with Sandpipers, an organization dedicated to serving the needs of the South Bay community through charitable and philanthropic programs, for the grand opening.

The Peabody, MA store will open Fall 2012 and occupy 24,000 square feet alongside the Northshore Mall. This will mark the retailer's third location in the greater Boston area, as it currently has stores in Natick and Chestnut Hill.

The Westbury, NY store will open Fall 2012 and occupy 24,000 square feet in the Gallery at Westbury Plaza. This will be the retailer's fourth location in the state of New York, as it currently operates a store in White Plains and two Manhattan locations (Sixth Ave between 18th and 19th and at 58th and Lexington).

The details for the sixth store opening are currently being finalized and will be released upon completion.

The retailer's 10,000 multi-functional and innovative products designed to solve the smallest storage solutions to the most intimidating organizational challenges will be organized within each of the new locations into 16 signature lifestyle departments such as closet, kitchen, office, travel, gift packaging and laundry, to organize its time- and space-starved customers. The retailer couples its one-of-a-kind product collection with an extremely high level of personalized customer service.

The Container Store practices a solutions-based approach to retail that's liberated by a commitment to employee development and training. Each full-time salesperson receives more than 263 hours of training in their first year compared to the retail industry average of seven to 10 hours. In addition, the retailer pays its employees 50 to 100 percent higher than retail industry average. "A funny thing happens when you take the time to educate your employees, pay them well and treat them as equals. You end up with extremely motivated and enthusiastic people," added Tindell.

It's this commitment to an employee-first culture that has landed The Container Store on FORTUNE Magazine's annual list of "100 Best Companies to Work For" for the past 13 years with the most recent ranking being announced in January.

Customers of each new store will be able to take advantage of all of the retailer's free, time-saving services, including:
- elfa custom design and installation services. The Container Store's expert closet designers will be available every day to create customized storage and organization solutions for any area of the home or office. elfa, the foundation of any organized space, is the premiere storage system available on the market and has been The Container Store's best-selling product since its debut in 1978.
- The Gift Registry allows customers to register for any celebration -- wedding, off to college, new baby, housewarming, anniversary, even a birthday.
- Click & Pickup (with Curbside Delivery) Order online and pick up in store -- in most markets, customers can have their order brought to their car.

"We look forward to astonishing new and existing customers alike with The Container Store's unique shopping experience, product collection and renowned customer service delivered by our great employees," continued Tindell. "Our goal is to have each customer do a little dance every time they open the doors of their organized closet, pantry or home office."

To learn more about The Container Store's unique approach to business, its Foundation Principles or to apply for a career, visit its blog at http://standfor.containerstore.com/.

Visit www.containerstore.com for more information about store locations, the product collection and services offered. Fiscal year 2011 sales are expected to reach an excess of $650 million. The Container Store is privately held.