All four new Ollie's locations in Wisconsin opened in February. There are no longer any Big Lots stores in Wisconsin after the brand closed 200 stores across 41 states in 2024.

The carts appeared to contain mostly seasonal items such as summer-themed tumblers and beach towels for $2.99. It reminded me of the Bullseye's Playground section at Target containing items costing between $1 and $5.

Ollie's, founded by Mark Butler, Mort Bernstein, Harry Coverman, and its namesake, Oliver "Ollie" Rosenberg, opened its first store in Pennsylvania in 1982. Its 100th store opened in 2011, and Ollie's became a publicly traded company in 2015.

The walls at Ollie's were plastered with illustrated signs advertising the low prices in creative ways, such as "Caution: bargains ahead" with "Ollie" dressed as a construction worker, and "Knockout deals" showing the character wearing boxing gloves. Everywhere I turned, I saw another quirky sign that made me chuckle.

Instead of selling the new releases and bestsellers I usually see at big-box chains, Ollie's stocked an eclectic collection of graphic novels, coffee table books, volumes of Bible studies, and picture books for kids.

I thought the coffee table books in particular would make great inexpensive gifts. I found a giant book about baseball stadiums for $7.99 that the baseball enthusiasts in my life would love.

In one of the grocery aisles filled with canned goods and condiments, many of the items were still in boxes. I recognized some brands, like Campbell's and Libby's, but others were new to me.

Piles of boxes crowding a store can indicate understaffing and may deter customers from shopping if they have to squeeze through the aisles, Business Insider previously reported.

Since most of the merchandise was shelved in cardboard boxes, this could have been more of a stylistic choice.

I compared prices using the Target and Walmart apps on my phone while browsing the aisles at Ollie's. The same 8.9-ounce box of Cheerios costs $4.49 at Target and $3.68 at Walmart.

A can costs $2.69 at Target. At Walmart, it was on sale for $2.48, which was still more expensive than Ollie's.

That three-pack would cost $5.79 at Target and was listed for $12.80 on Walmart's website, though it's likely cheaper in-store.

Ollie's keeps its prices low by buying closeout, irregular, discontinued, and overstock merchandise at a discount.

The limited edition Dove body washes, which retailed for $4.99 at Ollie's, were no longer available at Target or Walmart. Other Dove body washes of the same size sell for $8.69 at Target and $7.97 at Walmart.

A Black and Decker Crisp 'N Bake air fryer and toaster oven was priced at $39.99 at Ollie's, while a regular four-slice toaster oven cost $29.99.

Target appeared to sell the same four-slice toaster oven for $29.99, matching Ollie's price, but it was difficult to compare prices for the air fryer since I didn't find exact matches on their websites. Perhaps the toaster-air fryer combination Ollie's had in stock was an older or discontinued model that is no longer sold in other locations.

There were also new air conditioners for sale, like a 10,000 BTU window unit from Danby priced at $279.99. The exact design I saw no longer appears to be sold by Danby, though the company offers other units with the same cooling power for $429.99 and above.

The raw flooring materials in the housewares section reminded me of Menard's, a Midwestern home-improvement chain frequented by contractors and DIYers and known for its mail-in rebate discounts.

Laminate chestnut oak flooring cost 97 cents per square foot, while 5-foot by 7-foot Zephyr Collection rugs cost $99.99.

Barbies ranged from $8.99 to $12.99 at Ollie's, which was less expensive than at other stores.

For example, the "You Can Be Anything" teacher Barbie cost $8.99 at Ollie's compared to $14.99 at Target and $11.60 at Walmart.

Toy prices are expected to increase due to Trump's 145% tariff on Chinese goods.

Ollie's is a store with personality. The vibrant comic book-like signage and the treasure-hunting nature of sorting through the aisles made for an enjoyable outing. The prices were also lower than big-box competitors like Walmart and Target.

I wouldn't necessarily shop at Ollie's if I needed a specific brand of cereal or shampoo since the inventory varies based on what discounted merchandise is available, but if I just need some "Good stuff cheap" once Trump's tariffs take effect, I'd definitely shop there again.

When BI reached out to Walmart and Target about how their prices compare to Ollie's, a Walmart representative told BI: "At Walmart, we operate an every day low price model, in which we work to remove costs through efficiencies in our own operations and supply chain — to operate at an every day low cost (EDLC) so that we can in turn provide our customers with every low prices (EDLP). We constantly advocate for lower prices on behalf of our customers."

Representatives for Target and Ollie's did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kohl's has more than 1,150 locations in 49 states. While there are Kohl's stores in the greater New York City area, including in Brooklyn and Yonkers, there aren't any in Manhattan.

Kohl's announced its partnership with Sephora in 2020. By 2023, 910 Kohl's locations had added Sephora stores, and the retail chain built 140 more Sephora stores at Kohl's in 2024.

In 2023, Sephora sales at Kohl's totaled $1.4 billion, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Sales are projected to hit $2 billion by 2025.

Kohl's Rewards members and Kohl's cardholders received extra discounts.

The juniors section sold flared leggings, bralettes, and other styles popular with Gen Z.

The Sephora was constructed like a store within a store, similar to smaller shops located in a mall.

The aisles were full of makeup brands like Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Fenty Beauty by Rihanna.

On a June earnings call, Kingsbury said the retailer had removed some jewelry from stores to make room for Sephora locations since jewelry sales had been steadily declining.

He said Kohl's planned to add more accessories like jewelry back into stores in time for the holidays and place them near Sephora in an effort to boost sales.

The items ranged between $7 and $15, while most of the fine jewelry items displayed nearby cost around $100.

Kingsbury told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in September that Kohl's locations with more space for dresses were "performing better" than other locations.

To me, the black-tie dresses in particular made Kohl's feel more like a department store than a big-box retailer.

Kohl's also carries a line of adaptive clothing designed for accessibility. I appreciated how the store catered to a wide customer base.

Women's flannel shirts were on sale for $24.99 — the same as they cost at Target, but more expensive than Walmart, where similar shirts cost between $5 and $15. I also didn't find the clothing displays particularly engaging compared to Sephora's luminous shelves and eye-catching photos.

The items were organized by color, which I found visually appealing. I also enjoyed the wooden roof displayed over the home decor section, which made it easy to spot and identify from a distance.

Kohl's Q3 earnings report found that home decor was a "key growth area" that experienced a "strong collective performance" despite the overall slump.

Centering the juniors and jewelry sections around Sephora's beauty products made sense to me, but these items all seemed like they belonged in different parts of the store. Perhaps it was a space issue, or maybe Kohl's is still playing around with store layouts that drive more sales.

In October, Kohl's launched a digital baby registry service through Babies "R" Us to boost sales of baby gear, which has been a top seller.

On the Q3 earnings call, Kingsbury said that while Kohl's had "benefited" from opening Babies "R" Us shops in 200 stores, these additions were still "unable to offset the declines in our core business."

This could have been a stylistic choice, but it did make me think of Business Insider senior correspondent Emily Stewart's story about how store aisles crowded with boxes are a sign of the retail apocalypse.

Kohl's launched self-pickup in all of its locations in 2022.

The staffed checkout counters may have had a longer line because of people making returns.

By leaning into partnerships with Sephora and Babies "R" Us and thinking strategically about store layouts, Kohl's hopes to drive enough business to sustain its core brand and reverse its sales slump.