Is Big Lots going out of business?

Businesses around the nation are shuttering their doors as a potential recession looms, but it’s when the big ones fall that people really start to panic.

Small businesses are at constant risk of closures, due to the risky nature of any down-home business venture, but massive corporations like Big Lots are typically in the clear. They have the funds, name-recognition, and backing to forge through just about anything — but nothing is too big to fail. That’s never been more true than it is now, just a few years out from the COVID-19 pandemic and facing an uncertain future.

Concerning developments have been hitting Big Lots for months, as high inflation, job insecurity, and stagnant wages lead American consumers to shift their spending habits. When the future is uncertain, people tend to spend less, and that’s doing real damage to the longstanding discount retailer. News that Big Lots stores across the nation are set to shutter their doors is sending shoppers into a panic, as they wonder if the business is throwing in the towel for good.

Is Big Lots closing down for good?

Big Lots isn’t necessarily gone for good, but the beleaguered business is in trouble. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September of 2024, throwing the future of those Big Lots stores situated in cities around the nation into doubt. A number of them will close their doors permanently, but not all — at least a few locations will remain open for the foreseeable future, with just a few changes incoming.

It seems the formula Big Lots and other businesses of its sort are built on is starting to fail. With so much financial instability looming, people are seeking out cost-saving measures, but they’re also working hard to keep quality up. This is hitting certain “value” businesses, like Dollar General and Big Lots, harder than expected, and its leading to mass closures.

In Big Lots’ case, a good 300 of the business’s 1,400 stores are set to close. That will still leave more than 1,000 Big Lots open around the nation, but more could close as the corporation figures out its financial future. Big Lots did warn, in the wake of the news, that it may “need to close certain locations to ensure that our business operates efficiently and we can continue serving our customers.”

That could mean more closures are incoming, but for now there are plenty more Big Lots locations to make up for those shutting down. With a fresh financial injection and a game plan for our changing future, the business could reverse its current fortunes in just a few years, using the $707.5 million in fresh financing it secured via a deal with Nexus. According to Big Lots CEO Bruce Thorn, this is all part of the plan to bring the business back from the brink.

“The actions we are taking today will enable us to move forward with new owners who believe in our business and provide financial stability,” he said. “While we optimize our operational footprint, accelerate improvement in our performance, and deliver on our promise to be the leader in extreme value.”