Big Lots has lined another batch of stores to close at it battles bankruptcy – the latest retail giant to hit financial problems this year.
The 48 locations, dotted all over the country – including 11 in Texas and six in California – come on top of 344 closures already announced.
All 392 are offering as much as 50 percent off bargains – prompting a rush of shoppers looking for deals.
In early September, the Columbus, Ohio-based chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after years of making big losses.
It means Big Lots is planning to close a third of its 1,392 locations to cuts costs as it woos a new owner.
Retail experts say Big Lots main problem is that it markets itself as a place for bargains, but it is often more expensive than the likes of Walmart and Target.
Below is a map showing the locations of all 392. Scroll down for a list.
Big Lots store in Dennis Port, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, is shutting soon, and has up to 50 percent off in its clearance sale
In total, Big Lots has said it plans to shutter around 550 of its 1,389 locations.
Like most companies in shutting locations under Chapter 11 protection, it is announcing details in batches.
The latest list was filed on September 20, and included 49 locations. But one of those was on the previous batch of 344 closures, which were announced in August.
Of the latest stores lined up to shut, 11 are in Texas, six are in California, four in Pennsylvania and three in Florida. There are two each in Indiana, Washington and New York.
Iowa, Louisiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Arizona, Maryland, Massachusetts, Georgia, Michigan, Colorado, Illinois, Wisconsin and New Jersey each have a single store closing in this round.
Those that have just started to a shut down have 20 percent off, and for those near the end of the process it is 50 percent.
The Chapter 11 filing from Big Lots is the latest from big American retailers and restaurant chains, with the highest profile until now being Red Lobster.
A total of 21 have filed for bankruptcy in the first half of this year – the most since the pandemic wrecked havoc with businesses in 2020, S&P said in a July report.
Bosses at Big Lots hope to sell the business to private equity firm Nexus Capital after closing more stores in a bid to cut costs. They must also reduce its huge debt.
But several other retailers this year hoping to restructure have ended up having to close down entirely and sell off their stock, including dollar store 99 Cents Only, home improvement chain LL Flooring and furniture retailer Conn’s.
Big Lots – which three months ago said it had ‘substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue’ – has secured $707.5 million to keep it going.
Retail analyst Neil Saunders said bankruptcy was ‘the inevitable destination’ for a chain that had posted 16 consecutive quarters of sales declines.
Saunders, head of retail at GlobalData, pointed out one major factor for customers ditching Big Lots – that it is bad bad value, which ‘undermines the retailer’s key point of differentiation’.
Alarm bells rang on last Friday when Big Lots postponed the release of its financial results – a highly unusual move
Rumors had been swelling over the past week that Big Lots was on the brink of bankruptcy after years of falling sales.
Nexus, as a so-called stalking horse bidder, will buy Big Lots if no better offer arrives.
On Reddit, Big Lots store managers have complained that they are getting more and more stock that customers do not buy.
‘In the last month we received four of the largest trucks we have seen all year and triple the amount we normally get,’ one wrote.
‘The warehouse is pretty much full to capacity and none of [it] is selling.’
Another posted: ‘Isn’t that the weirdest thing? So much stuff, but none of it is what people want.’
Discount home goods retailer Big Lots has filed for bankruptcy after years of falling sales and store closures (Pictured: A store closure in Manassas, Virginia)
The store sells furniture and homeware alongside toys, beauty products and groceries
Big Lots is know for its reduced price items
Shoppers are rushing to stores that are closing to grab bargains
Problems for Big Lots come amidst a widespread ‘retail apocalypse’ which is seeing stores struggle with consumer pullback and increasingly tight margins.
There were almost 2,600 store closures in the first four months of 2024. If that trend continues, almost 8,000 will have been lost by the end of the year.
Bargain stores like Big Lots as well as dollar stores have been hit particularly hard.
For example, 99 Cents Only announced in April it would shutter all 371 of its locations across California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada.
Meanwhile, 1,000 stores belong to Family Dollar and its sister company Dollar Tree will shutter over the next three years.
In recent months, Walmart has also closed three more of its underperforming locations. Best Buy closed ten in March.
In addition, Macy’s is closing 150 shops over the next three years – including the shuttering of 55 this year.
Drug store Rite Aid has said it will close more than 800 stores after entering bankruptcy. Most of these have been in just two states – with customers scrambling to find a new pharmacy in Michigan and Ohio.
