Discount retail chain axes 18 more stores after hundreds shut down for good

Big Lots has announced the closure of much stores arsenic it moves done bankruptcy proceedings. 

The discount retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy successful September, and is awaiting tribunal support for its merchantability to an concern firm. 

The Ohio-based chain, which presently has astir 1,100 stores, initially planned to adjacent astir 555 stores and has truthful acold closed much than 270 of those. 

The further circular of closures volition impact locations successful Phoenix, Arizona, Atlanta, Georgia, and Meridian, Idaho. 

There are besides 5 much California stores and 3 much Texas sites connected the caller list. 

'We proceed to measure store closings successful airy of lease renegotiations and different considerations, and stay committed to keeping our customers informed arsenic we determination forward,' Big Lots said successful a connection to Nexstar. 

More than 200 100 further Big Lots stores look to beryllium continuing to navigate the closure process, Nexstar reported. 

The remaining stores look to beryllium preparing for the vacation buying play similar different retailers. 

As such, the company's remaining stores volition beryllium unfastened connected Thanksgiving from 7am to 9pm.

Big Lots announced it was besides putting connected 'Black Friday Friday's' income from December 6 onwards. 

It besides launched a caller app past week, 'designed to heighten the buying acquisition for its valued customers.'

The institution remains successful bankruptcy proceedings portion it awaits for tribunal support for its acquisition by Nexus Capital Management.

Store closure plans are not last until the acquisition is complete, arsenic the caller proprietor volition person the close to support stores antecedently slated to adjacent oregon marque adjacent bigger cuts. 

If each the stores acceptable to adjacent bash so, the institution would beryllium near with astir 830 locations. 

Some of the brick-and-mortar locations person been auctioned disconnected to the likes of Ollie's Bargain Outlet and Burlington.

The Chapter 11 filing from Big Lots is the latest from large American retailers and edifice chains, with the highest illustration until present being Red Lobster.

A full of 21 person filed for bankruptcy successful the archetypal fractional of this twelvemonth - the astir since the pandemic wrecked havoc with businesses successful 2020, S&P said successful a July report.

But respective different retailers this twelvemonth hoping to restructure person ended up having to adjacent down wholly and merchantability disconnected their stock, including dollar store 99 Cents Only, home betterment concatenation LL Flooring and furniture retailer Conn's. 

Big Lots - which 3 months agone said it had 'substantial uncertainty astir the Company's quality to continue' - has secured $707.5 cardinal to support it going.

Retail analyst Neil Saunders said bankruptcy was 'the inevitable destination' for a concatenation that had posted 16 consecutive quarters of income declines. 

Saunders, caput of retail astatine GlobalData, pointed retired 1 large origin for customers ditching Big Lots - that it is atrocious bad value, which 'undermines the retailer's cardinal constituent of differentiation'.