BRIEFS
Big Lots closing nearly 300 stores nationwide - here's where they are

Donovan Hunt
Columbus Dispatch

Columbus-based retailer Big Lots announced in a public June filing it would close 35-40 stores while opening three around the country, but its website now tells a different story.

The discount retailer did not release a list of closing stores, but its website as of mid Friday lists 293 locations — eight of them in Ohio — as closing soon with a banner touting an up to 20% off sale at the top of the screen. Local media and people on social media have noticed this as bankruptcy is becoming a risk for the company. … The June filing did not disclose which locations would shutter. .. Big Lots did not respond to requests for comment. … Where are these stores closing?

Most of these closures are in the western part of the country with 73 in California, 21 in Arizona and 18 in Washington. That is about three-quarters of California's Big Lots, which has 109 according to Big Lots' website. Florida is also seeing a larger number of closures than most states with 25.

Big Lots is closing eight of its 102 stores in its home state, according to its website, but none from central Ohio. Two are in Cincinnati, one in Dayton, one in Defiance, one in Saint Marys, one in Sandusky, one in Toledo and one in West Chester. Big Lots currently operates five locations in Columbus and about 10 in central Ohio. .. The company operates 1,389 locations according to its website as of Friday, which is down from 1,425 from the start of 2023. The closures listed on the website account for more than 20% of Big Lots across the country.

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