NEW YORK 鈥 Big Lots is preparing to close its remaining 963 locations after a sale to save the fell through.
The company previously announced it was selling 鈥渟ubstantially all鈥 of its assets to private equity firm Nexus Capital Management in September, but Big Lots said in a statement Thursday it 鈥渄oes not anticipate completing鈥 the transaction.
Big Lots will soon close all of its locations.
As a result, Big Lots is starting its 鈥済oing out of business鈥 sales at all remaining locations in the coming days. However, it still plans to explore other options to save the company, including negotiating with Nexus or another buyer, with the aim of completing a sale by early January.
鈥淲e all have worked extremely hard and have taken every step to complete a going concern sale,鈥 Big Lots CEO Bruce Thorn said in a press release. 鈥淲hile 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.鈥
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Big Lots blamed several economic factors for its bankruptcy, including high inflation and interest rates that led customers to change their purchasing behavior. They鈥檙e seeking out value 鈥 but not necessarily lower costs. That鈥檚 why while sales at Walmart and Amazon have been booming.
Big Lots has been closing hundreds of stores since the . At its peak, it had more than 1,400 locations across the United States.
Prior to filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Big Lots warned it had 鈥渟ubstantial doubt鈥 about its ability to remain operational. A regulatory filing said that there鈥檚 a 鈥渟ignificant likelihood鈥 of a potential default on a 2022 loan that could torpedo survival efforts for the 57-year-old retailer.
