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Big Lots will keep 200 locations open despite recently announcing its "going out of business" sales and bankruptcy, according to a recent court filing made by Gordon Brothers Retail Partners, a liquidation firm assisting in the process, obtained by USA TODAY.
The stores listed in the filing are located in 15 states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. North Carolina is expected to keep more stores open than any state with a total of 46 locations listed. A full list of locations listed can be found on USA TODAY's website.
Big Lots previously announced its "going out of business" sales on December 20, 2024, as it was expected to close all of its remaining stores before striking a deal with Gordon Brothers Retail Partners to keep some stores open seven days later. Big Lots, which operates more than 900 locations nationwide, filed for bankruptcy protection in September with the intention to sell to Nexus following its prior announcement to close up to 315 stores in August, which was later followed by plans to shut down 56 more in 27 states announced in October.
"We all have worked extremely hard and have taken every step to complete a going concern sale," Big Lots CEO Bruce Thorn said in a statement shared in the press release at the time. "While we remain hopeful that we can close an alternative going-concern transaction, in order to protect the value of the Big Lots estate, we have made the difficult decision to begin the [going out of business] process."
U.S. retailers announced a combined total of store closures exceeding than 7,100 through November 2024, which was a 69% increase from the previous year, according to data from the research firm CoreSight via CBS News.