Bargain Bin Billionaire
Forbes Indonesia|May 2019

How do you beat Amazon at retail? Sell cheap. Be opportunistic. Micromanage the stores. And stay off the internet!

Abram Brown
Bargain Bin Billionaire

The sheriff ’s deputy arrives early, assuming his position before 9 a.m. He stands silently, in a dark uniform beneath a bulletproof vest, and waits, sipping a small cup of thin coffee. As time rolls on, it becomes apparent he isn’t much needed here, stationed in a big, glassy store alongside a highway in Sterling, Virginia, by Washington’s Dulles International Airport.

Sometimes when an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet opens, the crowd can get large—particularly if Ollie’s arranges for a Nascar star or MLB player to visit—and law enforcement is needed to help manage the situation. By contrast, everyone on this wintery March day is well behaved, not a race-car driver or slugger in sight, leaving the deputy to contemplate the gigantic bin of plush, chicken-size Peeps (price: 99 cents), shelves of Farberware cookware sets ($39.99) and pallet of four-quart bags of Earthgro potting soil (also 99 cents).

The CEO, chairman, president and cofounder of Ollie’s is Mark Butler, a slightly built man with a big mustache and graying hair silvering over to white. When he walks in around 10, he is almost indistinguishable from his customers. Butler, 60, has attended every one of Ollie’s first 104 openings, but it’s harder to get to them these days with Ollie’s rolling out almost 40 a year. “Looks good,” he says, a group of lieutenants gathering around him. “Parking lot is very, very full.” Something is off, though. “Turn the music down a bit.” The Kinks can be heard, clearly, through the store’s public-address system. “What station do we have on?” Soon the tunes get softer and more modern. (“Something like the radio bothers the daylights out of me,” he admits.)

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 2019-Ausgabe von Forbes Indonesia.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 2019-Ausgabe von Forbes Indonesia.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS FORBES INDONESIAAlle anzeigen
BACK ON TRACK
Forbes Indonesia

BACK ON TRACK

Collective wealth gets a 21% boost to a record $162 billion amid an economic uptick.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
December 2021
Championing Locals
Forbes Indonesia

Championing Locals

The wave of social commerce is enabling inclusive digital economies beyond urban areas.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
December 2021
Boys in the Bubble
Forbes Indonesia

Boys in the Bubble

Startups are supposed to specialize, but OPENSEA’s founders thrived by building a wide-open market for creating and trading all manner of NFTs, whether art, music or gaming. Now that they’re centimillionaires and poised to become billionaires, they have other worries: competitors, fraudsters and the next crypto crash.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
December 2021
Enduring Relations
Forbes Indonesia

Enduring Relations

The implementation of IA-CEPA amid the pandemic signifies the Indonesia-Australia’s commitment to recover and counter future challenges together.

time-read
6 Minuten  |
December 2021
Sweet Success
Forbes Indonesia

Sweet Success

Steven Erwin envisions Unifam to become a major global player in the confectionery and F&B industry.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
December 2021
Marathon Man
Forbes Indonesia

Marathon Man

Across America, scores of municipal pension funds remain scandalously underfunded. But not the pension fund of Tampa’s police and firemen, thanks in large part to JAY BOWEN, whose no-frills approach to stock picking has protected and served them for more than 45 years.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
December 2021
Gold Rallies on Inflation Fears
Forbes Indonesia

Gold Rallies on Inflation Fears

During September the price of gold rallied to $1,868 per ounce following the release of figures on US inflation by the Bureau of Labor Statistics which indicated that, as of September, CPI inflation had rocketed to 6.2%, above the 5.8% which economists had been predicting.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
December 2021
Set Off to A New Start
Forbes Indonesia

Set Off to A New Start

Bank Aladin has two main ingredients for success: establish trust and offer better customer experiences.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
December 2021
The Daily Intake
Forbes Indonesia

The Daily Intake

YOUVIT plans to invest further into marketing and grow into one of the leading vitamin brands in Indonesia.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
December 2021
THE CROESUS OF CRYPTO
Forbes Indonesia

THE CROESUS OF CRYPTO

FTX COFOUNDER SAM BANKMAN-FRIED BUILT A $22.5 BILLION FORTUNE BEFORE HIS 30TH BIRTHDAY BY PROFITING OFF THE CRYPTOCURRENCY FRENZY—BUT HE’S NOT A TRUE BELIEVER. HE JUST WANTS HIS WEALTH TO SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH TO GIVE IT ALL AWAY.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
November 2021