Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowDiscount retailer Big Lots has added two more Indianapolis-area stores to its closure list, according to its latest Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings.
The closure list has grown from about 300 stores to about 350 since Big Lots filed for bankruptcy in early September.
The company now lists the stores at 6225 Allisonville Road in Indianapolis and at 1930 Conner Street in Noblesville as designated for closure. Closure sales have already started at the stores, according to the company’s web site.
In July, Big Lots said the Indianapolis store at 8401 Michigan Road in Indianapolis would be closing along with stores in Kokomo, Elkhart, Fort Wayne and Warsaw. The Michigan Road store is in its “final weeks” before it closes, according to the company.
Big Lots filed for bankruptcy protection while it contends with a pullback in consumer spending and soft sales.
The Columbus, Ohio-based company plans to sell its assets and ongoing business operations to private equity firm Nexus Capital Management.
Big Lots, which sells furniture, home decor and other items, said in a statement early this month that high inflation and interest rates have hurt its business as consumers have pulled back on their home and seasonal product purchases, two categories the chain depends on for a significant part of its revenue.
Sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of a retailer’s health, have declined for nine straight quarters, according to FactSet.
Big Lots said that its performance has been improving, but that its board determined during a strategic review that the proposed sale to Nexus was the right move for the business.
At the end of 2023, Big Lots operated nearly 1,400 stores in 48 states.
Indiana has more than 40 Big Lots locations, with a dozen of those in the Indianapolis area.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.
It’s been years since I’ve been into a Big Lots. From my one visit I remember a palate of what at first glance, I would consider standard diner style white porcelain coffee mugs for maybe $0.50 each. They had NO HANDLES. They were just big thick white porcelain drink cups, useless for hot liquids. Maybe they’ve gotten better, but I’m not sure how they stayed in business.