Bucking retail closure trend, Renys heads to Waterville for its next Maine adventure

Photo / Renee Cordes Renys is a discount retailer with 18 stores in Maine, including this one in Portland.

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At a time when many national retailers are struggling and downsizing, Maine's own Renys is in expansion mode.

Currently with 18 locations across the state, the family-owned discount chain is headed next to Waterville.

In April, Renys plans to open a store in a former JCPenney, which moved out of 60 Elm Plaza in September.

"There's a lot of good stuff happening in Waterville," John Reny, the company's president, told Mainebiz in a Monday phone interview.

He said that while it's not a downtown spot, being in a mall and near a Hannaford are both pluses.

"I think it's going to be a really good location for us," he said.

He also reported that the Bangor Renys, opened in 2024, is doing "exceptionally well," and has high expectations for Waterville.

"We've been opening stores where everyone else is closing," he noted.

Besides Bangor, Renys has locations in Bath, Belfast, Bridgton, Camden, Dexter, Ellsworth, Farmington, Gardiner, Madison, Pittsfield, Portland, Saco, Topsham, Wells and Windham, and two in Damariscotta close to its corporate warehouse and distribution center in Newcastle.

The company, which advertises with the jingle "Renys: A Maine Adventure," employs around 500 people in total.

Asked about the company's business strategy, Reny said, "You've got to keep growing, and you've got to take care of your customers ... We preach customer service every day and we do it every day."

Curtis Picard, president and CEO of the Retail Association of Maine, attributes the retailer's success to "hard work, and understanding their customers really, really well."

"We had multiple generations of Renys speak at an annual meeting a number of years ago, and I recall how they talked about how much work goes into their merchandise selection, distribution and treating their employees and customers well," he told Mainebiz. "But it takes a lot of concerted effort, and they fully recognize that just because Renys has been part of Maine's fabric for so long, they can never take it for granted."