Ross Dress for Less

Ross stores tend not to be as stocked as their counterparts, Marshalls or TJ Maxx. The same holds true in Portland. However, I was still able to score a ton of deals at this store. Even though I needed absolutely nothing, I walked away with seven items. Easy and fast checkout.

Clean and the staff was nice. Neat and tidy, especially for a Ross store. I only gave it 4 stars because the selection was small for such a big store.

This Ross store was huge! Bigger than. The ones I’ve been. It was really empty so we had a quiet shopping experience. Though some dresses my mom tried on had holes in them. The sales associates were very friendly.

I reviewed the old location up on SW 5^th & Alder and also the location at Cedar Hills Crossing, but this one in the new location is such a different store that it deserves a new review just for that reason. I know I’m being a little lazy here, but I concur with Tamara C’s review completely. Today, I wandered in after lunch at Pine State Biscuits just to have a look at Ross’ new digs, and I had to ask the nice and helpful clerk for my section of clothing because things weren’t clearly labeled. I really wasn’t shopping per se, but darnit all a cool navy blue jacket jumped off the rack into my arms and demanded to be taken home. I was glad to do so because it’s the perfect foil for a pair of navy blue pants waiting in the closet that is a whole size smaller and fit quite nicely now. However, if I keep going to Pine State Biscuits, I’m not going to be able to say that.

I am not a fan of the new location. To compare, the 5^th and Alder location was safe to walk to, had lots of pedestrian traffic, and was across the street from major bus lines. The store was spread out, so one could shop comfortably and leisurely, and it had a good selection of home products. In contrast, I found myself walking alone with no nearby foot traffic on my way to the new location, which seemed unsafe, and the location was several blocks away from bus lines. The aisles in the new store were tight, and the layout of merchandise was not clear. Every rack looked the same; it was hard to tell where to find the junior section, the petite section, and so on. I overheard several shoppers asking where they might find certain sections. While I usually rely on Ross’s to offer a pretty extensive selection of home products, the new store didn’t have much to look at. For instance, I found only two curtain rods, no over the door hangers, and no hangers. For these reasons, I am not likely to return to this location. I’d rather travel to the Gresham location where it’d be worth the trip because the store has so much more merchandise and is in a safer location.

The old, ghetto and dilapidated Ross formerly located on SW 5^th and Alder downtown is closed and a brand spankin’ new Ross is now opened on SW 3^rd and Morrison, across the street from the Nordstrom Rack.
This new Ross is spacious, clean, and better organized than the previous location. I also like that it is one floor as opposed to the 2 floors at the previous location. I am lazy and I can’t be bothered to walk up one flight of stairs and the elevator was eerily slow.
This new location feels a bit smaller than the old, closed location; especially the home department. You used to be able to find things like art, mirrors, etc., but now, there is none of that. There are a couple of aisles of kitchen goods, bed, and bath items and some candles. The men’s section seems a bit smaller as well.
Since I don’t need any art/​mirrors and I am not a fella, I am not really affected by the smaller sections. I do think the women’s clothing is about the same and that is what I am usually after. The display racks for the women’s shoes is much shorter but they make up for that in number of displays.
They still have the uniformed security guards at the door to make sure you don’t steal anything. I can’t think of another store downtown that has uniformed security guys lurking about and manning the entrances. I take that back, Louis Vuitton has a security guard, not uniformed though, and he was super annoying, following me around and skulking about peering at me from around the corner. Back on point: The Ross security guards, while uniformed, are much less offensive. They pleasantly greet folks as they enter the store.
For now, while everything is shiny and new. I am just curious how long it will take for this store to get rundown like most other Ross stores.
2014 — Review # 26