A POPULAR discount chain has confirmed it will close three stores in one city due to financial challenges.
Big Lots will close dozens of locations across the country, but one Illinois city will be particularly hard hit.
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The discount retailer will say goodbye to three stores in the Chicago area.
These branches are in the Lockport, Niles and Crest Hill areas of the city, according to The State Diary-Register.
All stores released 20% closing sales.
The end date for these stores has not yet been confirmed, but they are expected to close by the end of the year.
Illinois’ other 26 Big Lots stores are scheduled to remain open.
Shoppers were quick to share their sad thoughts about this news, in the comments of a Facebook publish.
“OMG I will definitely miss them,” one person wrote.
“What a bummer,” said someone else.
Big Lots announced on July 10 that it would close between 35 and 40 stores this year.
The Ohio-based chain had already closed more than 50 locations last year.
Big Lots blamed inflation as the main reason for these closures.
“In 2024, the US economy continued to face macroeconomic challenges, including high inflation, which had a negative impact on our customers’ purchasing power,” in a July 2024 report. filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The retailer also cited a “downturn in consumer spending” and several “underperforming stores.”
FUTURE PROBLEMS?
This decision to close these locations has left some shoppers speculating whether the chain will file for bankruptcy in the future.
Big Lots bankruptcy fears
Big Lots has warned that it may have to close up to 40 locations this year.
The discount retailer opened up about its financial struggles in its recent regulatory filing.
“By 2024, we currently expect to open three stores and close 35 to 40 stores,” Big Lots bosses wrote.
But questions remain about its “current cash and liquidity projections,” according to the document.
There are “substantial doubts about the company’s ability to continue operating,” according to court documents.
Big Lots operates more than 1,300 stores in 48 states and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.
“The company suffered net losses and used cash on operating activities in 2022, 2023 and the first quarter of 2024,” the network wrote.
The retailer blamed its financial problems on “continuous negative results [economic] factors” amid falling sales.
But there was hope of a turnaround through cost reduction and increased sales.
“The company intends to vigorously pursue its plans to increase its liquidity [and] improve business performance,” the court documents said.
Big Lots hopes to save the company by profiting from some of its properties, through “outright sale or sale and leaseback opportunities.”
Big Lots’ SEC filing also confirmed that the company’s debts had increased.
Its long-term debt also grew by $72.2 million, from $501.6 million in the first quarter of 2023 to $573.8 million in the first quarter of 2024.
Big Lots has more than 1,000 stores in the U.S.
The other closures affected stores in different cities and states.
Arizona will be hit hard as 12 sites will be permanently destroyed, US Sun previously reported.
This would be a huge cut across the state’s 34 locations.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
