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Big Lots says it will hold going-out-of-business sales at its remaining stores as it tries to find a buyer

Big Lots carts
Big Lots says it does not expect the going out of business sales will preclude it from negotiating a new deal, which it hopes to achieve by early January.

Mary Meisenzahl/Insider

  • Big Lots said Thursday it does not expect to close the deal to sell itself to a private equity firm.
  • The company will hold going-out-of-business sales at remaining stores as it looks for a new buyer.
  • Hundreds of Big Lots stores are slated to close across the US.

The fate of Big Lots is getting down to the wire.

The discount retailer said Thursday that it will hold going-out-of-business sales at its remaining stores as it does not expect to close its sale to private equity firm Nexus Capital Management.

However, it is not officially going out of business.

"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 GOB process," CEO Bruce Thorn said in a statement.

The company did not specify why the deal β€” which was worth roughly $750 million and had received court approval in November β€” fell through.

Big Lots said it does not expect the going-out-of-business sales will preclude it from negotiating a new deal, which it hopes to achieve by early January.

In addition to its announcement, Big Lots added hundreds of new locations to its list of more than 200 closing stores, which has been growing since it filed for bankruptcy protection in September. The fleet previously counted nearly 1,400 stores across the US.

Business Insider visited one location before it was included on this latest list and found empty shelves, an unusual assortment of merchandise, and few actual bargain prices.

Big Lots positions itself as a store to find great deals, which it offers by sourcing products at low costs from suppliers and other retailers.

But declining sales, a growing mountain of debt, financial losses, and a high percentage of underperforming stores have put the company's future in doubt.

If you are a Big Lots worker who wants to share your perspective, please contact Dominick via email or text/call/Signal at 646.768.4750. Responses will be kept confidential, and Business Insider strongly recommends using a personal email and a non-work device when reaching out

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Dozens of stores you once loved that don't exist anymore

Foxtrot exterior
Boutique convenience chain Foxtrot collapsed unexpectedly this year.

Bethany Biron/Insider

  • Declining foot traffic and rising e-commerce have led thousands of stores to permanently close.
  • Former household names like Borders, Circuit City, and Blockbuster are now just retail history.
  • BI rounded up dozens of once-beloved stores that no longer have a meaningful brick-and-mortar presence.

Brick-and-mortar retail is a tough business.

One day, your favorite brand can be riding high and enjoying strong sales from loyal customers, while the next it's fighting for survival and fending off creditors.

The only constant is change, especially as emerging trends, shopping patterns, and e-commerce players take larger pieces of the pie.

Here's a look back at some of the retail brands whose stores once greeted thousands of people each day, but are now consigned to retail's history books β€” or exist only online or as a tiny fraction of what they once were.

Blockbuster
Blockbuster
Blockbuster grew from a single store in Dallas to a chain of 9,000 locations over two decades.

Getty

Blockbuster got its start in 1985, and acquired the Sound Warehouse and Music Plus music chains to create Blockbuster Music in 1992. The music division was sold to Wherehouse Entertainment in 1998 before closing for good, but there remains one single Blockbuster video rental store in Bend, Oregon.

Thom McAn
thom mcan
Thom McAn had over 1,400 stores at its peak in the 1960s.

AP Photo/Justin Ide

Thom McAn was a chain of shoe stores that peaked in the 1960's and closed up shop by 1996. The brand's shoes continued to be available at Sears and Kmart.

Kinney Shoes
kinney shoes
Kinney Shoes was known for moderately priced footwear.

Glen Martin/The Denver Post via Getty Images

First opened in 1894, Kinney Shoes had 467 stores at its peak, all of which shuttered in 1998.

Warner Bros. Studio Store
warner bros studio store
Warner Bros. Studio Store sold merch from Loony Toons and DC Comics.

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Warner Bros. Studio Store competed with the Disney store until the company closed all of its locations in 2001.

Zany Brainy
zany brainy
Zany Brainy carried products for children aged 4 to 13.

Dan Loh/AP

Zany Brainy filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and closed all locations in 2003. The educational toy retailer's founder, David Schlessinger, co-founded the discount company Five Below.

Ames Department Store
Ames
Ames Department Store once had more than 700 locations.

Wikimedia

Debt and poor sales forced Ames Department Store into bankruptcy twice., and in 2002, the remaining Ames stores closed.

Imaginarium was an educational toy store in the 1980s. Stores started closing in the 1990s, and by 2003, its parent company, Toys R Us, had closed them all.
Toys R Us NJ 2001
Imaginarium-branded toys are still sold through Toys R Us.

AP Photo/Jeff Zelevansky

Imaginarium was an educational toy store in the 1980s. Stores started closing in the 1990s, and by 2003, parent company Toys R Us closed all remaining locations.

Hecht's Department Store
Hecht's
Hecht's Department Store was founded in 1857.

AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Hecht's was purchased by Macy's in 2005 and all locations were either turned into Macy's stores or closed.

Marshall Fields
Marshalls field
Marshall Fields was founded in 1852 in Chicago.

AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

Federated Department Stores bought Marshall Fields in 2005 and converted the stores to the company's more recognizable flagship brand, Macy's.

Gadzooks
GadZooks
Gadzooks stores typically featured a VW beetle sawed in half.

Getty

Gadzooks was a teen clothing store that was around from 1983 to 2005. It filed for bankruptcy in its final year and was purchased by Forever 21, which then closed all of the stores.

Kaufmann's
kaufmanns
Kaufmann's was a department store that had 44 locations at its peak.

AP Photo/Keith Srakocic

In 2006, Macy's retired the Kaufmann's name, and the brand disappeared.

Tower Records
Tower Records
Tower Records was one of the largest record stores in the 1990s.

Getty

Tower Records couldn't keep up with the rise of digital music, and all stores in the US were closed in 2006.

Media Play
media play
Media Play was owned by the same company as shopping mall record store Sam Goody.

Flickr/AdamL212

Media Play was a big box store selling books, movies, software, toys and video games. It closed for good in 2006.

Discovery Channel
Discover Channel Store
Discovery Channel stores sold educational books, videos, and gifts.

AP Photo/Terry Gilliam

Discovery Channel's 103 stand-alone stores closed in 2007.

KB Toys
KB Toys
KB Toys once operated over 1,300 stores across all 50 states.

AP/Damian Dovarganes

KB Toys announced it would be going out of business in 2008, and by early 2009 all locations were closed.

Sharper Image declared bankruptcy in 2008. But the company still sells merchandise through its website, catalog, and third-party retail partners.
sharper image
Sharper Image still sells merchandise through its website, catalog, and third-party retail partners.

Eric Risberg/AP

Sharper Image declared bankruptcy and wound down its physical retail operation in 2008.

Levitz Furniture
Levitz
Levitz Furniture was founded back in 1910.

Wikicommons/Laurie Avocado

Levitz Furniture declared bankruptcy twice β€” first in 1997, and then in 2005. It closed all of its stores in 2008.

Linens 'n Things had over 500 stores in 2006, but by the end of 2008, they were all closed. The company still does business online.
Linens N Things
Linens 'n Things still does business online.

Getty

Linens 'n Things had over 500 stores in 2006, but by the end of 2008, they were all closed.

Mervyn's
Mervyns
Mervyn's was a California-based department store founded in 1949.

AP Photo/Ben Margot

Mervyn's once had almost 200 locations in the western US. In 2008, the company declared bankruptcy and closed all of its stores.

Limited Too
limited too store
Limited Too, The Limited's children's store, launched in 1987.

Associated Press

Limited Too's success began dwindling in the early 2000s, and all stores were eventually rebranded as Justice by 2008.

Tweeter
Tweeter
Tweeter was an electronics chain that started in 1972.

Flickr/Dalvenjah FoxFire

Tweeter filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and all of its stores were closed by the end of the year.

Circuit City
Circuit City
Circuit City had 567 stores in 2008.

Getty

Circuit City filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and shuttered all stores the following Spring.

Steve & Barry's
Steve and Barrys
Steve & Barry's sold inexpensive sportswear for teens.

AP Photo/Mark Lennihan

Steve & Barry's filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and closed all of its stores in 2009.

Filene's and Filene's Basement
Filene's Basement
Filene's Basement was an off-price store that started in Filene's and eventually grew to 20 locations.

Getty

Filene's Basement's parent company went bankrupt in 2009, and by 2011 all of its stores were closed.

B. Dalton Books
B.Dalton Books
B. Dalton started in 1966.

AP Photo/Ricardo Santos

B. Dalton was acquired by Barnes & Noble in 1987, which officially closed the bookstore in January 2010, except for a single location in Oviedo, Florida.

Waldenbooks
garrison keillor waldenbooks
Waldenbooks was founded in 1933.

Tim Boyle/Getty Images

Waldenbooks merged with Borders in 1994, and all Waldenbooks stores closed when Borders Group liquidated in 2011.

Borders Books & Music
Borders
Borders Books was founded in 1971 by University of Michigan graduates Tom and Louis Borders.

Getty

Borders Books & Music stores closed shortly after the company was forced to liquidate in 2011.

CompUSA
compusa
CompUSA specialized in computer hardware and software.

AP Photo/Donna McWilliam

CompUSA started in 1984, but by 2007, Best Buy and other superstores had taken over, and the last CompUSA closed in 2012.

Sam Goody
sam goody
Sam Goody first opened back in the 1940s.

Dawn Villella / AP

Sam Goody music stores suffered from the rise of digital media, and most Sam Goody stores were either ultimately shuttered or converted into other brands like FYE by 2012. Two locations remain: one in Clairsville, Ohio, and one in Medford, Oregon.

A&P
A&P grocery store
A&P was the largest grocery store chain in the US from 1915 to 1975.

Chris Hondros / Getty Images

A&P filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010 and again in 2015, closing its stores that year.

Β 

Sports Authority
Sports Authority
Sports Authority once had more than 200 locations in the US.

Getty

Competition drove Sports Authority into bankruptcy in 2016, when it closed all its stores and sold its website to Dick's Sporting Goods.

Sport Chalet
Sports Chalet
Sport Chalet once had more than 50 locations.

AP Photo/Reed Saxon

Sport Chalet, which first opened in 1959, abruptly closed all of its stores in 2016.

Wet Seal
wet seal
Wet Seal once operated over 500 locations.

Kirsten Acuna/Business Insider

Wet Seal, a teen clothing store, filed for bankruptcy in 2015 and closed for good in 2017.

Virgin Megastores
Virgin Megastore
Virgin Megastores were hit hard by the rapidly declining CD market.

Getty

Virgin Megastores stopped operating in the US in 2017, but the brand continues online and in select international markets.

The Limited
The Limited
The Limited had 250 in 2017.

Facebook/The Limited

The Limited abruptly shut down all of its stores in 2017, and the brand is now sold exclusively through Belk.

Teavana's 379 locations were closed by its parent company, Starbucks. in 2018.
Teavana logo iced tea cups
Teavana is owned by Starbucks.

Starbucks

Starbucks closed Teavana's 379 locations in 2018.

Bon-Ton Stores
Bon Ton Stores
All 256 of the Bon-Ton group's stores were liquidated in 2018.

AP Images / Rusty Kennedy

The Bon-Ton stores included its namesake brand, as well as Bergner's, Boston Store, Elder-Beerman, and Younkers.

Toys R Us
babies r us nyc 7
Babies R Us before it closed.

Business Insider/Jessica Tyler

Toys R Us and its subsidiaries closed in 2018, but in 2021 Macy's announced that it would open Toys R Us sections in hundreds of its stores, while Babies R Us is opening within Kohl's stores across the US.

Henri Bendel
Henri Bendel
Henri Bendel first opened in 1895.

After 123 years of business, luxury retailer Henri Bendel closed all of its stores in 2019.

Dress Barn
Dress Barn
Dress Barn had 650 stores in 2019.

Getty

Dress Barn shut down in 2019 after 50 years in business.

Papyrus
Papyrus store
Papyrus greeting cards are still available at retailers like Target.

Geri Lavrov / Contributor / Getty Images

At its peak in 2009, Papyrus had 500 stores across the US and Canada, but the company ultimately filed for bankruptcy and closed its 254 stores in 2020.

Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor was once America's oldest department store.

Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Lord & Taylor filed for bankruptcy in 2020, leading to the closure of its 38 stores. An attempt at reviving the brand as a "digital collective" was unsuccessful.

Century 21
century 21 store 2001
New York discount department store Century 21 β€” not to be confused with the realty group.

REUTERS/Chip East

Century 21 closed its 13 locations after going bankrupt in 2020. The company reopened its New York flagship store in 2023 with a greater focus on e-commerce.

Olympia Sports
Olympia Sports
Olympia Sports shut down its remaining stores in 2022.

AP

After a slow decline and a tumultuous stint with private equity owners, Maine-based Olympia Sports shut down its remaining stores in 2022.

Bed Bath & Beyond
Bed Bath and Beyond closing Louisivlle
Bed Bath & Beyond had a fleet of more than 1,500 locations at its peak.

Ben Tobin

Bed Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy and closed its 896 remaining stores in 2023, though the brand was sold and relaunched online.

In October 2024, Beyond and Kirkland's Home announced a $25 million deal to open 15,000-square-foot small-format "neighborhood" Bed Bath & Beyond locations across the US. The companies said the concept would include an assortment of classic BB&B products.

Tuesday Morning
Tuesday Morning

Xinhua News Agency / Contributor/Getty Images

The Dallas-based home goods company shut down all of its stores in 2023 after it had only planned to close half of its storesΒ amid bankruptcy proceedings.

Christmas Tree Shops
A customer leaves a Christmas Tree Shop in Pembroke, Massachusetts, carrying a holiday wreath and a shopping bag
A customer leaves a Christmas Tree Shop in Pembroke, Massachusetts.

John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

The Massachusetts-based seasonal specialty retailerΒ filed for bankruptcy in 2023,Β winding down the remaining 72 locations across 20 states.

Moosejaw
A Moosejaw storefront
Moosejaw was founded in 1992 and acquired by Walmart in 2017.

Stephen Zenner/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Just months after buying Moosejaw from Walmart, Dick's Sporting Goods closed most of the brand's locations and formed one team that would handle both the Public Lands and Moosejaw brands moving forward. Only three Moosejaw locations remain open.

Foxtrot
Foxtrot shuttered operations across all 30-plus of its locations on Tuesday.
Foxtrot was a boutique convenience store

John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Chicago-based Foxtrot abruptly shuttered its 33 locations in April 2024 after it came up $35 million short of its 2023 sales goal.

Rue21
Clothing is displayed in the window of a rue21 store at Solano Town Center on May 03, 2024 in Fairfield, California.
Clothing is displayed in the window of a rue21 store at Solano Town Center on May 03, 2024 in Fairfield, California.

Getty/Justin Sullivan

Teen apparel retailer rue21 β€” known for its presence in shopping malls β€” filed for bankruptcy for the third time in May 2024. The company's 540 locations also shut down.

The retailer had attempted multiple turnaround plans after a 2017 bankruptcy and 2023 bankruptcy filing.

Conn's HomePlus
Shoppers in front of a Conn's Home Plus store in Texas
Shoppers in front of a Conn's Home Plus store in Texas.

James Nielsen/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images

Conn's HomePlus, a home goods retailer known throughout the South, filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2024 before announcing that it was shuttering all of its stores.

The chain operated more than 170 stores in 15 states.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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