Big Lots

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Big Lots Stores, Inc.
Big Lots
Formerly
  • Consolidated Stores Corp.
    (1967–2000)
Company typePublic
IndustryRetail
FoundedDecember 13, 1967; 57 years ago (1967-12-13), in Columbus, Ohio, U.S. (first incarnation, as Consolidated Stores Corp.)
April 10, 2025; 4 months ago (2025-04-10) (second incarnation)
FounderSol A. Shenk
Headquarters
Columbus, Ohio
,
U.S.
Number of locations
218 (2025)[2]
Area served
Contiguous United States
Key people
Bruce Thorn[3] (president and CEO)
ProductsFood and Beverage, toys, furniture, clothing, housewares, small electronics
Brandsbiglots.com
K·B Toys (1996–2000)
Toy Liquidators (1994–2000)
RevenueIncrease US$6.15 billion (2021)[4]
Increase US$239.7 million (2021)
Increase US$177.77 million (2021)
Total assetsIncrease US$1.41 billion (2021)
OwnerGordon Brothers
Number of employees
22,900[5] (2018)
ParentGordon Brothers Group (brand)
Variety Wholesalers (stores)
DivisionsBig Lots Wholesale
SubsidiariesLW Stores
Websitewww.biglots.com

Big Lots Stores, Inc. (stylized as Big Lots!) is an American discount retail chain, specializing in the sale of closeout and overstock merchandise. Founded in 1967 as Consolidated Stores, the chain is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, and includes over 900 locations across the United States.[6]

Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2024, and later in December, the chain announced that it would cease operations, liquidate, and close all remaining stores. Liquidation sales began in December 2024[6] and all stores were expected to close in 2025.[7] On December 28, 2024, Big Lots reached an agreement with Gordon Brothers Retail Partners to transfer 200–400 stores and one or two distribution centers to Variety Wholesalers, with the remaining stores to be permanently closed.[8]

History

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Early years

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The first closeout store, Odd Lots, opened in 1982 in Columbus. Due to a naming conflict with Revco’s Odd Lot Trading Co., the company rebranded its stores outside of Ohio as Big & Small Lots, later consolidating all stores under the Big Lots name.[9][10][11][12]

Consolidated Stores was also an investor in the DeLorean Motor Company and took possession of unsold vehicles after the automaker’s 1982 bankruptcy.[13][14] The company went public in 1985 on the American Stock Exchange and switched to the New York Stock Exchange in 1986 under the symbol CNS.[15]

During the 1990s, Consolidated acquired Toy Liquidators (1994) and KB Toys (1996), which it later sold to Bain Capital in 2000.[16][17][18] In 1998, it purchased MacFrugals (Pic ‘N’ Save) for $995 million in stock.[19][11] The company was renamed Big Lots, Inc. in 2001, changing its ticker symbol to BLI, and later to BIG in 2006.[20][21][22] In 2005, it closed 170 stores, including all standalone furniture locations.[23]

Big Lots Wholesale

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Big Lots operated a wholesale division for over 34 years through Big Lots Wholesale, Consolidated International, and Wisconsin Toy. The division, which sold merchandise in bulk, was closed at the end of fiscal year 2013.[24]

Big Lots Canada

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Main article: LW Stores

In July 2011, Big Lots acquired Canadian closeout retailer Liquidation World Inc. for $20 million, marking its first expansion outside the United States. The first Canadian store opened in April 2013, with additional locations in Ontario. The company exited Canada in 2014 due to poor sales.[25]

Bankruptcy

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Big Lots, formerly the largest close-out retailer in the United States, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2024. The filing followed several years of declining sales, increasing debt, and unsuccessful efforts to revive the business. The case is cited as an example of how economic pressures, changes in consumer behavior, and strategic missteps can contribute to the collapse of a long-standing retail chain.[26][27][28]

Big Lots attributed its bankruptcy to persistent inflation and high interest rates, which it said had reduced spending by its core lower-income customers. However, court documents indicated that the company’s financial problems stemmed from a heavily leveraged balance sheet, including sale-leaseback agreements, rising logistics costs, and nine consecutive quarters of same-store sales declines.[26][27][28] The Chapter 11 filing enabled the company to secure $707.5 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing and propose a stalking-horse sale to Nexus Capital.[26][27][29] After the deal fell through in December 2024, liquidation sales began at all 963 stores.[30][31][32]

One of the key factors contributing to Big Lots’ financial decline was a sustained drop in revenue. The company’s annual revenue fell from $6.19 billion in 2020 to $4.51 billion on a trailing twelve-month basis in 2024, a decline of 27.1%.[33] Comparable store sales decreased by 9.9% in the first quarter of 2024 and 8.6% in the fourth quarter of 2023, extending a streak of nine consecutive quarters of negative same-store sales.[34][35]

On January 1, 2025, a U.S. bankruptcy court approved a sale agreement allowing Gordon Brothers Retail Partners to sell between 200 and 400 Big Lots stores, as well as distribution centers and intellectual property, to Variety Wholesalers Inc. The decision, approved by Judge Kate Stickles, faced objections from several vendors. Companies such as Tempur Sealy and Serta Simmons argued that the deal prioritized repayment to lenders while leaving trade creditors with substantial losses. They also alleged that Big Lots accrued approximately $250 million in vendor debt after becoming aware it would be unable to fully repay its obligations.

Big Lots revenue fell from $6.19B in 2020 to $4.51B in 2024.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Abboud, Mike (December 8, 2023). "Retail News: Big Lots closing Willowbrook store". Houston Historic Retail. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  2. ^ "All Big Lots Locations". Big Lots.
  3. ^ "Leadership". Biglots.com.
  4. ^ "Annual Reports". BigLots.com.
  5. ^ "Big Lots". Fortune. Archived from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Schwartzberg, Eric (December 23, 2024). "Store closing sales begin at all Big Lots". Dayton Daily News.
  7. ^ Bomey, Nathan; Tyko, Kelly (December 20, 2024). "Big Lots store closings 2025: Retailer plans to close all stores". Axios. Archived from the original on December 20, 2024.
  8. ^ Snider, Mike (December 28, 2024). "Not all Big Lots stores will close: Deal with Gordon Brothers keeps up to 400 open". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  9. ^ "REVCO BUILDING "CLOSE-OUT" MERCHANDISING BUSINESS WITH ODD LOT ACQUISITION FOR $113 MIL.; PURCHASE INCLUDES $78 MIL. WHSLE. BUSINESS". The Pink Sheet. April 30, 1984. Archived from the original on March 2, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  10. ^ "Leased thru June 30, 2027" (PDF). Retail Investment Group. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Jensen, Trevor (July 2, 2001). "Bigger Budget Backs Big Lots Rebranding Moves". www.adweek.com. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  12. ^ "Big Lots: History". Big Lots. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  13. ^ Holusha, John (September 1, 1994). "Sol A. Shenk, 83, Merchandiser Who Built a 700-Store Empire". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  14. ^ "Big Lots - Retail". October 16, 2006. Archived from the original on October 16, 2006. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  15. ^ "Securities Act Registrations" (PDF). SEC News Digest. May 24, 1985. p. 5. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  16. ^ "Melville in Accord to Sell Toy Chain to Consolidated". The New York Times. March 26, 1996. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  17. ^ "COMPANY NEWS; BAIN CAPITAL BUYS TOYS UNIT OF CONSOLIDATED STORES". The New York Times. December 9, 2000. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  18. ^ Maestri, Nicole (December 8, 2000). "Consolidated Stores sells KB Toys". MarketWatch. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  19. ^ Martin L., de Vore (July 2, 2002). "MacFrugal's get a new name". Chron. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  20. ^ "COMPANY NEWS; CONSOLIDATED STORES CHANGES ITS NAME TO BIG LOTS". The New York Times. May 17, 2001. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  21. ^ Archives, L. A. Times (May 17, 2001). "Consolidated Stores to Be Called Big Lots". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  22. ^ "SEC 10k Filing" (PDF). 2006 Annual Report. Part III (Part 3): 14. May 31, 2007. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  23. ^ "Big Lots closing up to 170 stores". Milwaukee Business Journal. October 7, 2005. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  24. ^ Feran, Tim (November 11, 2013). "Big Lots to shut down wholesale division". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  25. ^ Buchanan, Doug (December 5, 2013). "Big Lots getting back out of Canada". Columbus Business First. American City Business Journals. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  26. ^ a b c Valinsky, Jordan (September 9, 2024). "Big Lots files for bankruptcy | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  27. ^ a b c "Big Lots files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, plans to sell assets to Nexus Capital". AP News. September 9, 2024. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  28. ^ a b "Big Lots files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy | Retail Dive". www.retaildive.com. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  29. ^ "Big Lots chapter 11 filing, $707.5 million DIP financing and stalking horse APA | Davis Polk". www.davispolk.com. September 13, 2024. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  30. ^ Valinsky, Jordan (December 20, 2024). "Big Lots will soon start 'going out of business' sales at its remaining locations | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  31. ^ Tyko, Nathan Bomey,Kelly (December 20, 2024). "Big Lots store closings 2025: Retailer plans to close all stores". Axios. Retrieved July 23, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  32. ^ "Big Lots to start going-out-of-business sales | Retail Dive". www.retaildive.com. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  33. ^ "Big Lots (BIG) - Revenue". companiesmarketcap.com. Retrieved July 23, 2025.
  34. ^ https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/big-lots-reports-q1-results-2024-06-06 [bare URL]
  35. ^ "Big Lots Reports Q4 and Full Year 2023 Results". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved July 23, 2025.
[edit]
  • Business data for Big Lots:
  • Media related to Big Lots at Wikimedia Commons
  • Official website
  • Big Lots SEC Filings