At a Glance:
- Burlington’s 2025 sales grew 9% despite reduced offerings of home products.
- CEO Michael O’Sullivan announced plans for aggressive home category growth in the second half of 2026.
- Target categories include gifting items, home decor, housewares, bedding, toys and seasonal decor.
BURLINGTON, N.J. – After severely curtailing its home assortment to mitigate the impact of President Trump’s tariffs last year, Burlington Stores Inc. is plunging ahead with expansion.
Even though Burlington’s 2025 sales jumped 9%, CEO Michael O’Sullivan told investors that overall growth could have been even higher if it had not been for the heavy tariff impact on gifting items, home decor, housewares, bedding, toys and seasonal decor.
“Our original plan [in 2025] was to significantly expand those areas starting in Q3 and into Q4. With the introduction of tariffs in the spring, we faced a different set of economic choices,” he said during Burlington’s Q4 analyst call this morning.
Now, those areas are slated for growth – especially in the back half of 2026.
All major product segments comped positive in the fourth quarter, however same-store sales in home were lower than normal – the result of Burlington shifting its mix to favor apparel, footwear and beauty. Despite the gap, home still had good turns during the holiday season.
“That tells me that if we had more receipts we could have done more business” said O’Sullivan. “That sales opportunity has not gone away. In 2026, we plan to go after that opportunity aggressively and profitably.”
See also: Fatter margins, higher Q4 sales: Why Burlington is feeling bullish about 2026
The tariff situation remains in flux – a reality he acknowledged. The U.S. Supreme Count on Feb. 20 ruled that Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs was illegal, striking down those levies. Now the President has imposed a blanket 15% global tariff on all goods coming into the country. Under the law, those tariffs will expire in five months. Yesterday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Administration will leverage other tools to return tariffs to where they were under the IEEPA.
Even so, O’Sullivan said, suppliers have had a full year to adjust to the higher tariffs. “The map is different now. Tariffs are still here, but they’re lower than they were last summer.”
