Big Lots
| Company type | Public (until 2024 bankruptcy) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail (discount closeout) |
| Predecessor | Consolidated Stores |
| Founded | 1967 |
| Fate | Filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024; liquidation and partial acquisition by Variety Wholesalers |
| Successor | Variety Wholesalers (partial) |
| Headquarters | Henderson , United States |
Area served | United States (formerly also Canada) |
| Products | Closeout and surplus retail merchandise |
| Owner | Variety Wholesalers, Inc. (post-2024 acquisition) |
| Parent | Variety Wholesalers, Inc. (post-2024 acquisition) |
| Website | biglots |
Big Lots Stores, Inc. (also presented as Big Lots! or BIG Lots!) is a U.S.-based discount retailer focusing on closeout and surplus inventory. Established in 1967 under the name Consolidated Stores and currently owned by Variety Wholesalers, Inc., the company’s headquarters are located in Henderson, North Carolina, with a network of over 200 outlets throughout the United States.
In October 2024, Big Lots initiated a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. By December, it revealed intentions to halt all operations, conduct inventory liquidation, and shut down all remaining stores. The liquidation sales commenced that month, with closures planned to continue into 2025. On December 28, 2024, Big Lots finalized an arrangement with Gordon Brothers Retail Partners to transfer between 200 and 400 stores along with one or two distribution centers to Variety Wholesalers; the rest of the locations will be permanently closed.
Initial Phase
The company’s first closeout retail outlet, Odd Lots, debuted in Columbus in 1982. Due to trademark conflicts with Revco’s Odd Lot Trading Co., stores outside Ohio were renamed Big & Small Lots before all were unified under the Big Lots brand.
Consolidated Stores had early financial involvement with the DeLorean Motor Company and took control of unsold vehicles following the automaker’s 1982 bankruptcy. The firm went public in 1985 on the American Stock Exchange and transitioned to the New York Stock Exchange in 1986 under the ticker CNS.
During the 1990s, Consolidated expanded by acquiring Toy Liquidators in 1994 and KB Toys in 1996; KB Toys was later sold to Bain Capital in 2000. In 1998, it purchased MacFrugals (Pic ‘N’ Save) for $995 million in stock. The company rebranded as Big Lots, Inc. in 2001, updating its ticker symbol first to BLI and then to BIG in 2006. In 2005, it shuttered 170 outlets, including all standalone furniture stores.
Wholesale Operations
For more than three decades, Big Lots maintained a wholesale segment through entities such as Big Lots Wholesale, Consolidated International, and Wisconsin Toy, offering products in bulk quantities. This wholesale arm was discontinued at the close of fiscal year 2013.
Expansion into Canada
In July 2011, Big Lots acquired Liquidation World Inc., a Canadian closeout retailer, for $20 million—its initial move beyond U.S. borders. The first Canadian store opened in April 2013 with additional outlets established in Ontario. Due to unsatisfactory sales performance, Big Lots withdrew from the Canadian market by 2014.
Bankruptcy
Once recognized as America’s largest closeout retailer, Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2024 after enduring prolonged declines in revenue, mounting debt burdens, and unsuccessful restructuring attempts. The filing underscored economic challenges, evolving consumer preferences, and strategic errors affecting this long-established retail brand.
The company attributed reduced spending among its primarily lower-income customer base to inflation and elevated interest rates. Nevertheless, court filings highlighted significant leverage from sale-leaseback arrangements, escalating logistics expenses, and nine consecutive quarters of negative same-store sales as critical factors driving financial distress. The Chapter 11 petition included securing $707.5 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing and proposed a stalking-horse bid from Nexus Capital. Following the collapse of this deal in December 2024, liquidation sales commenced across all 963 stores.
A major contributor to Big Lots’ downturn was revenue shrinking from $6.19 billion in 2020 to $4.51 billion over the trailing twelve months ending in 2024—a decline of approximately 27.1%. Comparable store sales dropped by 9.9% during Q1 2024 and by 8.6% in Q4 of 2023, marking nine straight quarters of negative performance.
On January 1, 2025, a U.S. bankruptcy court approved a transaction enabling Gordon Brothers Retail Partners to transfer ownership of between 200 and 400 stores along with distribution centers and intellectual property rights to Variety Wholesalers Inc. This agreement faced opposition from vendors such as Tempur Sealy and Serta Simmons who contended that it favored repayment to lenders while leaving trade creditors with substantial losses. They also alleged that Big Lots accumulated roughly $250 million in vendor liabilities after being aware it lacked sufficient funds for full repayment.
See also
External links
- Articles with short description
- Companies formerly traded on the New York Stock Exchange
- Businesses located in the Columbus, Ohio metro area
- Corporations that entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2024
- American enterprises founded in 1967
- Retailers founded in 1967
- United States discount retailers
- U.S. toy store chains
- Variety retail establishments
- 1967 Ohio establishments
- Initial public offerings of the 1980s
- American companies established in 1967