Uncharted retail store, sister brand of The Paper Store, opens in Greenvale

Uncharted, an apparel, accessory and beauty products retail brand owned by The Paper Store, a family-run chain of specialty gift stores, has opened its first Long Island location in Greenvale as part of a $60-million investment strategy to grow the nascent store brand.

The store at 90 Northern Blvd., replaces a Lester’s clothing store that relocated in 2023, and will be Uncharted’s first East Coast store, the retailer’s parent company TPS Group Holdings said in a news release Tuesday. The Greenvale store will host a grand opening event on Saturday and Sunday.

The “sister brand” to The Paper Store opened its first location in Oak Brook, Illinois, in November, but has already become the highest performing store in TPS Group’s portfolio of brands, the privately owned company said. The Long Island location is Uncharted's second location to open nationally, the company said.

TPS Group employs more than 3,000 people across more than 100 locations on the East Coast, the company said.

TPS Group officials do not publicly provide sales figures, but 2024 estimates from analytics firm Dun & Bradstreet listed the company's annual revenue at over $224 million. TPS officials said Wednesday those figures were "inaccurate and quite low." 

The Paper Store has seven locations on Long Island, according to the company's website. 

"Greenvale's vibrant community made it the perfect choice for Uncharted's East Coast debut," Tom Anderson, president and CEO of The Paper Store said in a statement Tuesday. “We're confident Long Island shoppers will take to this sister brand and its impressive lineup of best-selling products." 

Anderson said in a statement issued to Newsday Wednesday that the retailer is "always looking to explore new locations that can align with Uncharted’s audience," and because the Island has been home to "multiple successful Paper Store locations...we thought this was a great opportunity for the Uncharted brand."

Uncharted held a soft opening of the store on March 20, the company said. 

The 10,782-square-foot store will employ more than 30 workers and will feature brands such as Birkenstock, Free People, Kendra Scott, Owala and Stanley drinkwear, as well as a changing collection of home decor, beauty products and children’s toys, the company said.

“These stores, in a way, are a bit like a small department store, but one that is really focused on those hot, must-have brands,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, a retail analysis firm based in Manhattan.

Saunders said while Uncharted is a new entrant in the retail marketplace, The Paper Store has made a name for itself regionally by positioning itself as a gift and holiday shop.

“The Paper Store is very good for gifting, and they’ve put a lot of effort into the store experience,” he said.

“Uncharted is a little bit more about everyday products,” Saunders said. “It is a store that is more female-centric deliberately.”

TPS Holdings plans to open six more Uncharted locations throughout Illinois this year, the company said.

Founded in 1964 by Bob Anderson, The Paper Store first opened as a small newspaper and magazine stand before growing into family-owned gift shop business with over 100 locations, including Gifts & More at The Paper Store locations in Florida.

In 2020, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy over the impact of COVID-19 before being acquired that same year by WS Development, a national retail real estate development firm, according to reports from The Herald News. 

The company began operations as TPS Group Holdings that same year, according to the company's website.