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Major US discount retailer to close as many as 315 stores as retail apocalypse gathers pace
Big Lots is closing up to 315 stores across multiple states as it suffers from growing financial woes.
The discount homeware chain has identified scores of locations across states such as Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire and Vermont which are due to close.
The Columbus, Ohio-based chain has not published a full list of closures - which will mean it loses of a quarter of its 1,392 store footprint.
But stores that are going out of business display a 'closing this location' banner on its website, alongside a 20 percent off promotion.
Big Lots is the latest to shutter stores this year, with the US on course to lose nearly 8,000 physical locations by the end of 2024. For example, Macy's is closing 150 shops - a third of its total - while Dollar Tree is shutting 1,000 and drug store Rite Aid will close almost 800.
The discount homeware chain has identified scores of locations across several states which are due to close (Pictured: An affected store in Manassas, Virginia)
The drastic action from Big Lots comes after it has seen its takings fall consistently for each of the past ten quarters. It lost an eye-watering $132 million in the first three months of 2024.
The latest closures - on top of 40 announced in June - were detailed in a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday.
Previously Big Lots had agreed with lenders to close up to 150 underperforming stores, Retail Dive reported. Now it will shut more in a bid to cut costs in the face of falling sales and rising costs.
The news comes less than two months after Big Lots warned it may not be able to keep up with its loan payments.
On the latest closures, a company spokesperson told Retail Dive: 'While the majority of our stores are profitable, we have made the difficult decision to close certain underperforming stores.'
'We are confident that the steps we are taking will best position the company for the future as we return to our roots, focus on owning the bargain space, and deliver unmistakable value to our customers.'
During the company's last earnings call, CEO Bruce Thorn said it wants to expand its extreme bargain offerings.
He said Americans were cutting back spending on big ticket items, especially for furniture.
'We believe Big Lots is in a tough spot,' Joe Feldman, an analyst at Telsey Advisory Group, said in a note.
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.'
Locations that are going out of business, such as one in Seekonk, Massachusetts, display a 'closing this location' banner on the website, alongside a 20 percent off promotion
Big Lots, which has over 1,000 stores across the US, is know for its reduced price items
The store sells furniture and homeware alongside toys, beauty products and groceries
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.
In recent months, Walmart has closed three more of its underperforming locations. Best Buy closed ten in March.
Dollar stores have been hit hard too, with 99 Cents Only announcing in April it would shutter all 371 of its locations across California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada.
The 1,000 closures of Family Dollar and its sister company Dollar Tree will happen over the next three years.
Express - a mall staple - filed for bankruptcy in April and said it would shut 95 Express outlets alongside all of its UpWest stores.
At the start of May, Rue21 - the teen fashion chain that is a fixture in malls across America - also said it will shut all its 543 US stores after going bust.
Badcock Home Furniture & More said at the end of July it is closing all its 380 stores dotted around the South after it fell into bankruptcy earlier this year.