By Chris Yow
Editor
TRUSSVILLE — Phillip McAfee, Director of Planning for Blackwater Resources, the developer of the new Homestead Village shopping center, announced Wednesday morning to the Trussville Daybreak Rotary Club the addition of retailer Five Below to the new development.
Five Below is a retailer focused on teen and pre-teen merchandise valued at $5 or less.
Buzz Feed called them “America’s fastest growing teen retailer.”
CEO Tom Vellios has a knack for supplying the stuff of rabid, momentary teenage fads
“Our goal is not to be first to identify a trend — we have the ability to be a very fast second,” Vellios said. “We take discretionary product and through our editing process, with the right quality and right trend and color, enable our customer to really want to come into our stores. It’s the trend-right approach.”
The company’s website says, “Five Below’s dynamic assortment of merchandise includes everything from sporting goods, games, fashion accessories and jewelry, to hobbies and collectibles, bath and body, candy and snacks, room décor and storage, stationery and school supplies, video game accessories, books, dvds, iPhone accessories, novelty and ‘gag,’ and seasonal items. Five Below combines exceptional value with trend-right, quality merchandise in a vibrant shopping environment.”
McAfee said the Pennsylvania-based company has recently been very aggressive in expansion, and has several stores in Alabama already.
One stock analyst website said, “Five Below Inc. shares have appreciated 19.51 percent over the past month, from $30 on Dec. 15. Stifel’s Taylor G. LaBarr has upgraded the rating on the company from Hold to Buy, with a price target of $42. LaBarr mentioned the upgrade reflects key concerns regarding Q4 traffic fading and while macro tailwinds accelerating.”
“If you’ve got a kid going off to college, you would go to Five Below because they offer a lot of things you’ll want to put in their dorm room,” McAfee said. “They are a quality tenant.”
Five Below joins Hobby Lobby, Ulta, Fresh Market and Petco as announced tenants.