- Big Lots’ plan to sell itself to a private equity buyer fell apart last week.
- The retailer is starting store closing sales but trying to find another suiter, it said.
- I visited a Big Lots store in Maryland in September to see what it’s like to shop there.
Big Lots is fighting to survive.
The discount retail chain had won court approval to sell itself to private equity firm Nexus Capital Management this fall after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September. But the deal fell apart last week, leading Big Lots to start store closing sales at the locations it hasn’t already shuttered.
In a statement on Thursday, Big Lots said it hopes to find another buyer by early January.
Big Lots cited high interest rates and inflation among the factors that have held back its sales in a statement announcing the Chapter 11 filing earlier this year. Many of its customers have cut back spending on home decor and other non-essential purchases that make up most of what Big Lots stocks, the company added.
Plenty of shoppers are trimming their budgets, especially for purchases they can live without, like eating out or upgrading their home appliances.
But Big Lots has long marketed itself as a place to find great deals. The company has said that it buys products cheaply from suppliers and other retailers, which enables it to keep prices low. That seems like a model that should be working at a time like this. Big Lots did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
To see what shopping at the chain is like, I went to a Big Lots store in the Washington, DC, area after the company filed for bankruptcy in September.
Here’s what I found.
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