JAY – A New York-based company that buys brand-name clothing and other items and sells them at discount prices is making its Maine debut in October. Label Shopper stores are scheduled to open in Jay, Oxford and Skowhegan.

“We’re thrilled about going up to Maine,” company President Peter Elitzer said Tuesday.

The company, which is affiliated with Peter Harris Clothing Inc., has about 20 Label Shopper stores in New York, Massachusetts and Vermont.

“The long and short of it is, what we look for is markets a little bit smaller (that) we think are under-serviced,” Elitzer said.

He described the company as an “opportunist” buyer that goes around the world, visits factories that make brand-name clothing for specialty stores, buys the overages and sells them for 25 percent to 70 percent off.

“We really scour the market and find special deals on branded clothing,” he said.

Often, the brand names are crossed off the labels or the labels are removed before sale, he said.

The stores offer clothing for young men, men, women, juniors and plus-sized women as well as small home décor and shoes, Elitzer said.

Label Shoppers will go into storefronts in the Jay Plaza on Main Street in Jay, in the Oxford Plaza on Main Street in Oxford and next to Tractor Supply Co. on Madison Avenue in Skowhegan.

The store in Jay will be a little less than 6,000 square feet and is expected to open after Oct. 13, or sooner if possible. The Oxford store is about 8,000 square feet and is scheduled to open Oct. 1; the one in Skowhegan is about 12,000 square feet and slated to open Oct. 3 or 4, Elitzer said.

Employees for all but the Jay store have been hired. The company plans to hire 10 to 12 employees for that store, including a full-time manager and an assistant manager, said Alison Hagerstrom, executive director of the Greater Franklin Development Corp. in Farmington. The rest of the jobs will be part-time, she said.

“This is just great news,” Hagerstrom said. “We are thrilled to have Label Shopper coming to the Jay Plaza.”