Dive Brief:
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The Paper Store is marking 60 years in business with a $60 million expansion plan across the Northeast and into new markets including the Midwest.
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Over the next five years, the gifts and homewares retailer will renovate existing stores and open an unspecified number of new ones, according to a company press release.
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The Paper Store now runs more than 100 stores nationwide, with 10% of those either remodeled or newly opened this year.
Dive Insight:
The Paper Store has expanded from its origins as a family-run newspaper stand, launched in 1964 in Maynard, Massachusetts, though it remains owned by the founding Anderson family.
Under pressure from the pandemic and other factors, the chain stumbled four years ago, when it took a spin through bankruptcy that was resolved in less than two months. The company wasn’t alone in its struggles, as rivals Papyrus, Paper Source and Things Remembered also ended up in bankruptcy court around the same time.
In its reorganization process four years ago, The Paper Store picked up funds from investors led by real estate firm WS Development. At that point, the chain was running 86 stores, mostly in the Northeast. Now it’s set to expand.
The retailer’s Signature Hyannis Store, at The Landing at Hyannis Plaza on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, will soon host a grand reopening, per its press release. Along with a redesign, the location will feature interactive experiences, an assortment that includes Stanley, Jellycat, Tree Hut, Free People and Kendra Scott, and services like ear piercing and a charm bracelet and necklace bar. Holiday events will also feature visits from Santa.
This year so far, the company will have opened or refreshed 10 stores, including six in Massachusetts (including Hyannis), two in New Hampshire, one in Florida and one in Illinois. The last one, in Oak Brook, is The Paper Store’s first Midwest location.
"We are incredibly grateful to our loyal customers and community for supporting us over the past 60 years," The Paper Store President Tom Anderson, a family owner, said in a statement. "Our expansion plans over the next several years represent our commitment to reinvesting in our community with the same dedication and passion that has defined our family-run business for decades."
