Big Lots shoppers are hoping their local stores will be spared from closure as the closeout retailer navigates its way through bankruptcy.
“I was just looking for a chair,” said Hempfield resident Bev Lauffer while she perused the Big Lots there this week, adding she shops at Big Lots on a fairly regular basis. “I’ve bought some furniture here I really like.”
At the Big Lots in Allegheny Township — the only remaining store in the otherwise empty Allegheny Plaza — Liane Newell said she gets what she pays for: “The quality, which is junk.”
Newell conceded there are few other places in town to find clothing or furniture.
Citing a conversation with the plaza owner, Allegheny Township Supervisor Jamie Morabito said there is no indication the location there will be closed.
Big Lots warned of additional store closures this week as the self-styled “extreme bargain” retailer enters bankruptcy protection proceedings.
As part of its Chapter 11 filing, the Columbus-based company reached a sale agreement with private equity firm Nexus Capital Management for about $760 million.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, unless a better offer appears, making Nexus what is known as a “stalking horse bidder.”
There are more than 20 Big Lots stores in Southwestern Pennsylvania, including Allegheny Township, Harrison, Hempfield, Monroeville, Penn Hills, Ross Township, Unity, Collier, North Versailles and West Mifflin.
Big Lots officials did not return a request for comment on whether any of those stores will close. Employees at the location in Allegheny Township said they are not authorized to speak on the matter.
In a statement this week, Big Lots blamed some of its woes on factors beyond its control, such as high inflation and rising interest rates.
Big Lots has been especially impacted by economic trends, the company noted, “as its core customers curbed their discretionary spending on home and seasonal product categories that represent a significant portion of the company’s revenue.”
Bruce Thorn, Big Lots president and chief executive officer, said the company has seen improvements to its sales compared to past periods and gross margins in recent quarters, and he expects the “positive momentum” to continue.
Big Lots brought in about $4.7 billion in revenue last fiscal year, its lowest haul in more than a decade.
Full second-quarter sales will be released Thursday.
In July, the company announced plans to shutter 35 to 40 stores, which then ballooned to nearly 300, or more than 20% of its roughly 1,400 locations. The Big Lots on Gracy Center Way in Moon was the only casualty in the Pittsburgh region at that time and one of six in the state.
