Fans of Big Lots should head over to their local store and snag deals soon, as might not be there for much longer. The nationwide chain announced plans to close 300 stores earlier in September, but now the number of stores closing looks closer to 550, with 250 planned to be shut down by mid-January. The company revealed the new closures while dealing with chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filings, plus the sale of assets to private equity firm Nexus. Here’s what customers should know.
RELATED: Big Lots Closing Even More Stores This Year.
New Owners
Nexus Capital
Big Lots was bought out by private equity firm Nexus as part of efforts to save the brand. "We are proud of the work we do every day across Big Lots to provide our customers with unmistakable value and exceptional savings, as well as building stronger communities through our philanthropic efforts,” says Bruce Thorn, President and Chief Executive Officer, in a statement. “The actions we are taking today will enable us to move forward with new owners who believe in our business and provide financial stability, while we optimize our operational footprint, accelerate improvement in our performance, and deliver on our promise to be the leader in extreme value."
Moving Forward
Sylvain Gaboury/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Thorn makes it clear the stores are still dedicated to taking care of their customers through all the upheaval. "We appreciate the tremendous loyalty of our customers, and our core purpose of helping them 'Live BIG and Save LOTS' has never been stronger,” he says. “As we move through this process, we remain committed to offering extreme bargains, enabling easy shopping in our stores and online, and providing an outstanding customer experience. We are grateful for the hard work and dedication of our associates who remain focused on delivering the best service possible for our valued customers, and we deeply appreciate the partnership of our vendors as we start a new chapter for our business."
RELATED: Express Is Closing Over 100 Stores.
Closing Locations
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The company says closing down locations is necessary. "Though the majority of our store locations are profitable, we intend to move forward with a more focused footprint to ensure that we operate efficiently and are best positioned to serve our customers,” Thorn says. “To accomplish this, we intend to use the tools afforded by this process to continue optimizing our store fleet in an orderly manner."
Additional Stores Closing Down
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Here are the additional stores marked for shutdown (they’re having closing sales!).
Alabama: Andalusia
Arizona: Apache Junction
Arkansas: North Little Rock
Colorado: Westminster
Florida: Miami (Cutler Bay)
Idaho: Boise
Illinois: Champaign
Indiana: Crawfordsville and Evansville (Town Center)
Kansas: Olathe
Kentucky: Madisonville
Louisiana: Hammond
Nevada: Henderson (Lake Mead Crossing), Las Vegas (S. Fort Apache, Paradise, W. Sahara Ave, Southwest Las Vegas, and Summerlin), Reno (Lemmon Valley and South Reno)
New Jersey: East Brunswick, Freehold, North Bergen, Ocean, Phillipsburg, Union
New Mexico: Alamogordo
Ohio: Cincinnati (Cherry Grove)
Oklahoma: Tulsa (Oakhurst)
Texas: Austin (Wells Branch), Baytown, Dallas (Park Forest), Fort Worth (East Fwy), Frisco, Galveston, South Garland, Groves, Houston (Museum District and Northwest Houston), Kilgore, Mcallen, Richardson, San Antonio (Hollywood Park), Stephenville, Terrell
Utah: Kearns
Wisconsin: Stevens Point
