Five Below targets South Broad Street location
The youth-oriented retail company has acquired zoning permits for the former site of a Rite Aid, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.
Five Below could be coming to 810 S. Broad St., according to the Philadelphia Business Journal, which reported that the business received zoning permits for the site last week.
The youth-oriented retail company would be moving into a location that was previously a Rite Aid. That pharmacy location shuttered in November — one of several Rite Aid closures amid the company’s bankruptcy.
The news of the Philadelphia location comes as Five Below has been in the midst of an expansion. Last year, the company’s CEO, Joel Anderson, told The Inquirer the business planned to open 1,500 more stores by 2030. The company said it would open 200 stores that year, with some locations set to take over stores shuttered by bankruptcies.
Five Below has several stores in the region, including two in Center City: one on Chestnut Street and another on Market Street. The company also has a store on South Columbus Boulevard and at the Aramingo Crossings shopping center, according to its website. A Five Below is also set to open at the Philadelphia Premium Outlets this summer.
The company did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
The new location is near the site of a large apartment complex being built at 1001 S. Broad St., as well as a shopping area that features a Sprouts, Target, and Insomnia Cookies among other stores.
The 810 S. Broad St. location is about 10,000 square feet and has a 26-car parking lot, according to the website of Soloff Realty & Development Inc., which has the property listed for leasing. While Five Below’s stores were originally under 5,000 square feet, Anderson told The Inquirer in 2023 that the average store was around 10,000 at that point.
Five Below has been making shifts to how customers check out at stores. In March, Anderson announced that the business intended to have 75% of purchases processed by a cashier across stores in an effort to fight against loss of inventory, according to Fast Company. Stores that are seeing the highest loss of inventory would adjust to have 100% of transactions processed by a cashier.
Five Below was founded by Thomas Vellios and David Schlessinger with a first store in 2002 in Wayne. They had previously run a chain of children’s toy stores, Zany Brainy, which began in Wynnewood in 1991.