Sierra Expanding to Duluth With New 17,000 Square Foot Store

Once known as Sierra Trading Post, the brand is now simply known as Sierra. It is part of the TJX Companies empire and could be opening a new location in Minnesota very soon.

The brand started as a catalog-only business in 1986 out of Reno, Nevada. By 1990, the first retail store opened. In 2012, the business was acquired by TJX Companies, the company behind T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods.

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Sierra offers a selection of outdoor recreation, fitness, and adventure gear at discount prices ranging from 20 to 60 percent off. Like its sister retailers, Sierra sells overstocked, closeout, and end-of-season products from name brand makers.

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Minnesota Growth and Duluth Speculation

Currently, Sierra has eleven locations in Minnesota, with the most recent opening last September in Rochester. There are more than 145 locations across the United States, and the company plans to open around 25 new stores this year. Could one of them be in Duluth?

Brixmor, a company that owns and operates retail centers across the country, including Burning Tree Plaza in Duluth, lists available opportunities on its website. A site map for the plaza shows a new tenant in the former Jo-Ann Fabrics location.

That new tenant appears to be Sierra, listed as occupying the 17,000 plus square foot space next to Best Buy. The location would place Sierra just steps away from T.J. Maxx and HomeGoods, both located within Burning Tree Plaza.

No Official Announcement Yet

As of publication, no official announcement has been made by Sierra corporate. A Duluth location is not yet listed on the company’s website, and there are no job postings currently available for a new store in Duluth.

However, Matt Johnson, a commercial real estate agent for Brixmor, confirmed the news, saying, “We are thrilled to be adding Sierra to Brixmor Property Group owned Burning Tree Plaza in Duluth, MN. This new location will be the third TJX Companies concept within the shopping center.”

One Big Question Remains

The biggest question might not be about outdoor gear at all. Last year, the vacant Jo-Ann Fabrics space served as the ideal seasonal home for Spirit Halloween. With limited large retail spaces available in the area, it raises the question of where the Halloween retailer might set up shop this fall. A return to a smaller footprint location at Miller Hill Mall could be back in play.

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