Big Lots to shutter more than 50 retail locations
FILE - Big Lots shopping carts outside a store in Los Angeles, California, on Sept. 7, 2024. Photographer: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Big Lots aims to permanently close the doors of more than 50 stores.
The discount retailer disclosed its intentions of shuttering 56 more locations in a Friday filing to the bankruptcy court overseeing its Chapter 11 proceedings.
The new stores set for closure are located in numerous states, including California, Texas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Tennessee, Illinois, Arkansas, Alabama, Connecticut, Virginia, Indiana, Iowa, Colorado, Missouri, Washington, Arizona, Maryland, Kansas, Louisiana, Florida, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and North Carolina.
Relevant parties have until Wednesday afternoon to object to the planned closures, per the notice.
BIG LOTS FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY, WILL CLOSE SOME STORES AMID SALE TO INVESTMENT FIRM
The locations would add to the numerous stores that the discount retailer has already closed this year.
Big Lots launched Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings early last month to help facilitate the sale of "substantially all" of its assets to its "stalking horse bidder" Nexus Capital Management.
In early September, the discount retailer said its board had concluded "entering into the Sale Agreement with Nexus, and initiating a court-supervised sale process, is the best path forward to maximize value and ensure continued operations." Nexus must be the winning bidder of a court-supervised auction for the transaction to close.
Big Lots also said at the time that the Chapter 11 proceedings would involve more location closures.
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"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," CEO Bruce Thorn said. "To accomplish this, we intend to use the tools afforded by this process to continue optimizing our store fleet in an orderly manner."
Prior to its Chapter 11 petition, reports had suggested a potential bankruptcy filing from Big Lots was coming.
The discount retailer is known for selling home goods, furniture, seasonal decorations and other products.
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In the second quarter, Big Lots generated $1.05 billion in net sales, an over 8% decline compared to the same three-month period last year. Its quarterly net loss was nearly $238.46 million.
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