BIG Lots shoppers are shocked by the rapid closure of hundreds of stores.
The retailer revealed the financial difficulties behind the shutdowns, as it dealt with millions in debt and rising inflation.
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Hundreds of Big Lots stores across the U.S. are closing as the retail giant struggles with debt.
On August 3, 2024, Julie Sugg shared a Facebook publish by Jojo Kujo who revealed that the Henderson, Kentucky location is close to closing stores.
“So, it’s official! The Henderson store will be closing. Possible closing date is October 1st. They will be reducing prices to close out,” Kujo wrote.
A screenshot of a Big Lots photo revealed that shoppers can receive discounts, with up to 20% off their purchases.
Customers expressed their disappointment with the shutdown in the comments.
“I read that many were closing! I hoped it wasn’t ours,” wrote Lisa B. Fulkerson.
“Oh no!” Sheila Turner said.
When Stephanie Schinault questioned whether the news was true, Diana Nelson Jackson responded, “Yes, I was there last night. The girl said there wasn’t enough profit.”
BIG LOSS
Big Lots is closing nearly 300 stores nationwide as it battles debt and rising inflation.
In June 2024, the retail giant announced the closure of 35-40 locations due to financial difficulties, for Live dough.
It experienced a reduction in net sales of $114.5 million from the first quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024, according to federal records.
This reduction is equivalent to 10.2% of the company’s net sales.
The retailer’s long-term debt grew by $72.2 million from the first quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024, leading to a total of $573.8 million in long-term debt.
“In the first quarter of 2024, we experienced a decrease in comps and net sales across all of our merchandise categories,” the company said in June filings.
Large Lot Closings by State
Big Lots is closing nearly 300 stores nationwide due to financial difficulties.
As of August 2024, numbers by state include:
- Alabama – 1
- Arizona – 17
- Arkansas – 1
- California – 75
- Colorado – 8
- Connecticut – 8
- Florida – 26
- Idaho – 0
- Illinois – 9
- Indiana – 5
- Iowa-0
- Kansas – 2
- Kentucky – 3
- Louisiana – 4
- Maine – 1
- Maryland – 5
- Massachusetts – 5
- Michigan – 11
- Minnesota – 1
- Mississippi – 0
- Missouri – 6
- Montana-2
- Nebraska – 0
- New Hampshire – 1
- Nevada – 1
- New Jersey – 1
- New Mexico – 0
- New York – 10
- North Carolina – 7
- North Dakota – 0
- Ohio – 8
- Oklahoma – 0
- Oregon – 8
- Pennsylvania – 6
- Rhode Island – 0
- South Carolina – 3
- Tennessee – 3
- Texas – 0
- Utah – 4
- Vermont – 2
- Virginia – 8
- Washington – 18
- West Virginia – 0
- Wisconsin – 7
- Wyoming – 1
“Our home product categories, which include Furniture, Seasonal, Soft Home and Hard Home, continue to be negatively impacted by macroeconomic pressures that have impacted our customers’ discretionary spending in the first quarter of 2024.”
In August, Big Lots reported nearly 300 outages in its websiteaccording to a Mass Live audit.
The retailer has listed 1,389 U.S. locations on its website.
However, with at least 289 future shutdowns, there will be a nearly 21% reduction in stores nationwide, the outlet states.
Some states have been spared from closures as of now, including Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas and West Virginia.
With 75 closures, California suffered the most, followed by Flordia, with 26.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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