In line with At Dwelling CEO, the retailer can almost triple its variety of shops

At Home CEO Lee Bird told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday that business had grown exponentially during the pandemic and that the company had expansion plans on the horizon.

As the home decor superstore invests in expanding its digital presence, the company continues to see opportunities in physical stores, which Bird calls “the center of our universe.”

The chief executive currently operates around 220 stores in 40 states and sees scope for a list of 600 locations, nearly three times its current footprint.

California, the New York Tri-State Area and the Midwest are expected to expand.

“We’re making a lot of money, but we have a lot of growth ahead of us,” Bird said in a Mad Money interview.

The comments came after Cramer Bird, who has headed the company for eight years for $ 1.1 billion, asked about the quarterly results the company released earlier this month from the third quarter of fiscal 2021. Amid a home renovation boom during the pandemic, At Home’s business grew more than 47% to reach $ 470 million for the quarter. Sales in the same store increased 44%.

Bird said it was a record quarter for sales, earnings and free cash flow. The company also focused on deleveraging on the balance sheet, he said.

“We have great momentum throughout the fourth quarter and we believe it will continue to do so for the next year,” he said. “We are certainly growing three to four times as fast as the industry average. We are making a lot of money, but we have a lot of growth ahead of us.”

At Home stock rose 3% to $ 16.47 on Thursday. The stock is up nearly 200% since the start of the year but is behind its 215% gain over $ 28.3 billion competitor in Wayfair.

“We have a lot of growth ahead of us and we believe that over time the market will take care of itself in terms of stock price,” said Bird.