Roughly 300 additional Big Lots stores are set to be closed as speculation that the company could file for bankruptcy looms.
In early July, Big Lots warned in a U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) filing that between 35 and 40 locations could shutter this year. In a new SEC filing, submitted on July 31, Big Lots said the total number of closures could reach 315, much higher than the originally agreed number of 150.
Company leaders have pointed to inflation and difficulties in competing, saying they had “a substantial doubt” in their ability to continue. Between the first quarters of 2023 and 2024, Big Lots had reported that sales dropped more than 10%.
Big Lots has not released a complete list of stores that will be closed but signs have already started to appear at affected locations. As of Wednesday, roughly 300 have banners on their web pages that read “closing this location” while alerting customers they could “save up to 20% off.”
Below is a list of Big Lots stores by state that have “closing this location” alerts on their web pages. Italicized cities were part of the previous list of closures from July.
Arkansas, Kentucky, Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Wyoming did not previously have any closing stores. There were initially no Ohio locations set to close, either, but Nexstar’s WCMH found eight Big Lots stores within the state are now on that list.
- Alabama: Bessemer, Huntsville (Northwest Westside Centre), Prattville, Sylacauga; Troy –
- Arizona: Gilbert, Green Valley (Sahuarita), Payson, Prescott, Tempe, Tucson (West Ina Road and Davis Monthan Air Force Base), Northeast Tucson; Flagstaff, Glendale, Laveen, Mesa, East Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix (Ray Road, 75th Avenue, Bell Road, West Bethany Road, East Bell Road), Scottsdale, Tucson (North Oracle Road)
- Arkansas: Fayetteville
- California: Ceres, Chino, Elk Grove, Fontana, Freedom (Watsonville), Fresno (West Shaw Avenue and Kings Canyon Road), Gardena, La Habra, Lodi, Mission Viejo, North Highlands, Oroville, Paradise, Spring Valley, Torrance, Victorville, Whittier, Yuba City, Yucca Valley, and roughly five dozen more locations
- Colorado: Colorado Springs (North Academy Boulevard, South Academy Boulevard, and New Center Point), Greeley, Aurora (South Parker Road), Grand Junction, Littleton, Longmont
- Connecticut: Newington, New Milford, Norwich, Torrington, Waterbury, Windsor, Manchester, Milford, Waterford
- Florida: Boynton Beach, Bradenton, Daytona Beach, Fort Myers (McGregor Boulevard), Miami (Fontainebleau), South Naples, Orlando (South Semoran Boulevard, Waterbridge Downs and Union Park), Plantation, Port Richey, Royal Palm Beach, Sarasota (South Gate Ridge), Stuart, Tampa (Citrus Plaza Drive), Tarpon Springs, Boca Raton, Bonita Springs, Clewiston, Coconut Creek, Destin, Hallandale, Hollywood, Miami Lakes, Orange Park, Orlando (Waterbridge Downs), Pompano Beach
- Georgia: Decatur, Fayetteville, Roswell, Stockbridge, Stone Mountain, Waynesboro, Savannah, Thomson
- Illinois: Burbank, Calumet City, Centralia, Elgin, Fairview Heights, Oakbrook Terrace, Crest Hill, Lockport, Niles
- Indiana: Elkhart, Fort Wayne (Jefferson Pointe), Warsaw, North Indianapolis, Kokomo
- Kansas: Salina and Kansas City
- Kentucky: Henderson, Lexington (Hamburg Pavilion), and Louisville (Poplar Level Road)
- Louisiana: Bossier City, Denham Springs, Lafayette, Natchitoches
- Maine: Portland
- Maryland: Bowie, Glen Burnie North, Laurel, Lexington Park, Reisterstown
- Massachusetts: Ashland, Northampton, Seekonk, West Springfield, Dennis Port
- Michigan: Big Rapids, Coldwater, Holland, Howell, Lansing, Madison Heights, Petoskey, Kentwood, Okemos, Portage, Ypsilanti
- Minnesota: Albert Lea
- Missouri: Independence, Jefferson City, Kansas City (Washington Street), Saint Joseph, Saint Louis (Christy Boulevard and Lemay Ferry Road)
- Montana: Great Falls and Helena
- Nevada: North Las Vegas
- New Hampshire: Claremont
- New Jersey: Woodbridge
- New York: Buffalo (Sloan and Linden Corners), Canandaigua, Ithaca, New Hartford, Plattsburgh, Poughkeepsie, Carle Place, Centereach, Queensbury
- North Carolina: Charlotte (Pineville and Newell), Durham (Southwest Durham Drive and Avondale Drive), Jefferson, Raleigh (Glenwood Avenue and Garner Station Boulevard)
- Oregon: Beaverton, Eugene, Grants Pass, Gresham, North Bend, Milwaukie, Albany, Salem
- Ohio: Cincinnati, Chester, Centerville, Defiance, Saint Marys, Sandusky, Springdale, Toledo
- Pennsylvania: Coraopolis, Kennett Square, Philadelphia (Franklin Mills), Franklin Mills, Clifton Heights, Exton
- South Carolina: Aiken, Chester, Newberry
- South Dakota: Rapid City
- Tennessee: Franklin, Madison, Union City
- Utah: American Fork, Murray, Layton, Logan
- Vermont: Rutland and Barre
- Virginia: Charlottesville, Lynchburg (Wards Road), Norfolk (East Virginia Beach Boulevard), North Chesterfield (Richmond), Virginia Beach (General Booth Boulevard), Woodbridge, Fredericksburg (Warrenton Road), Manassas
- Washington: Lakewood, Port Orchard, Puyallup, Richland, Spokane, Wenatchee, Bellingham, Burien, Covington, Everett, Kent, Lacey, Lynnwood, Olympia, Port Angeles, Renton, Tacoma (72nd Street), Vancouver (SE 164th Avenue)
- Wisconsin: La Crosse, Neenah, Fond du Lac, Menomonee Falls, Mount Pleasant, Sheboygan, West Bend
- Wyoming: Cheyenne
Based on their individual web pages, none of the Big Lots stores in Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, or West Virginia are set to close.
Big Lots has not said when these stores will close, and a representative did not immediately respond to Nexstar’s request for comment. It’s also unclear why Big Lots had selected these specific stores for closure.
Big Lots currently has 1,389 locations across 48 states (only Alaska and Hawaii are without stores). Should it close the requested 315 stores, Big Lots would lose nearly 23% of its retail locations. The company, based in Columbus, Ohio, began in 1967, but it wasn’t until 2001 that all of its store names switched to Big Lots.