HomeGoods, an off-price home decor retailer, recently opened in the Marketplace at Augusta. The national chain expects to hire up to 65 people for full- and part-time jobs at the new central Maine location. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

AUGUSTA — With the annual holiday entertaining season approaching, the Marketplace at Augusta has welcomed an off-price home decor retailer to its ranks.

HomeGoods, part of the TJX family of stores, has opened an 18,600-square-foot store between the Paper Store and Old Navy, near Home Depot.

The store carries furniture, rugs, lighting, home decor items, bedding and bath items, and kitchen and dining accessories among other things. The retailer is expecting to fill about 65 full-time and part-time positions.

“We’re always assessing our real estate strategies and the decision to open a store in Augusta reflects that thinking,” Samantha Abbatessa, marketing supervisor for HomeGoods, said via email.

Abbatessa declined to answer other questions.

The HomeGoods opening follows other announcements this year of new retailers entering the central Maine market or expanding.

“We can match this news with Harbor Freight and Hobby Lobby coming to the Turnpike Mall and the revitalization that’s taken place at the Shaw’s Plaza and the new and expanded Planet Fitness there,” Keith Luke, economic development director for the city of Augusta, said. “There’s been significant investment in the city by these very desirable retailers, and it speaks to the strength of both the capital area and central Maine economies.”

Because Augusta is home to major employers such as the state government and MaineGeneral Health, it attracts a large number of people to the region and tends to have steady employment.

‘The city has been a service center community in Kennebec County, and that trend continues,” Luke said.

The National Retail Federation, which represents the retail industry, has noted that U.S. retailers announced twice as many store openings and closings in 2021, citing information on The Daily on Retail, an industry research platform. Nearly half of those openings came in the dollar store, discount and off-price sector that includes companies like TJX.

To celebrate its latest opening, the company announced it will donate $10,000 to the Augusta Food Bank.

HomeGoods is one of the retail brands under the TJX corporate umbrella along with TJ Maxx, Marshalls and Sierra. TJX has nearly 4,700 retail operations in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia.