The Big Lots store in Orange Park is the only Northeast Florida location closing so far as the discount chain reported Aug. 2 it could close up to 315 sites nationwide.
That’s up from 150 stores the company, which calls itself America’s Discount Home Store, previously said it would close, which was up from 40 initially.
The Orange Park space will close by the end of August, the store said.
The website for the Big Lots store at 700 Blanding Blvd., Suite 1, says “Closing This Location” with “save up to 20% off” with limited exceptions.
The store is in South Blanding Village, which is south of Interstate 295. The site plan for the center shows that the 31,762-square-foot Big Lots space is coming available as the store closes. Lat Purser & Associates Inc. is the landlord representative for the center.
Big Lots says there are 106 stores in Florida and six in Northeast Florida comprising three in Jacksonville and one each in Jacksonville Beach, Orange Park and St. Augustine.
None of the websites for the area Northeast Florida stores indicated closures as of noon Aug. 6.
Big Lots Inc., based in Columbus, Ohio, filed a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Aug. 2 that it was amending loan terms that would increase the number of store closings from 150 to 315.
The RetailDive.com industry news website said that in June, the company said it planned to close up to 40 stores.
The industry site said that if Big Lots closes 315 stores, it would represent a nearly 23% cut in the company’s footprint, which was 1,392 locations as of June. It has stores in 48 states.
The site said Big Lots’ decision to more than double the number of possible store closings comes less than two months after the retailer issued a going concern notice.
At the time, Big Lots said it faced a liquidity crunch and net losses and that it used cash to fund some operating activities starting in 2022 and continuing into the first quarter of 2024, the site said.
“While the majority of our stores are profitable, we have made the difficult decision to close certain underperforming stores,” a company spokesperson told Retail Dive in an email, according to RetailDive.com on Aug. 5.
“We are confident that the steps we are taking will best position the Company for the future as we return to our roots, focus on owning the bargain space, and deliver unmistakable value to our customers.”
RetailDive.com said Big Lots declined to confirm the total number of locations that it plans to shut down, but the spokesperson said associates affected by a store closure can request a transfer to another Big Lots. The retailer also plans to offer severance pay to people who are unable to transfer to another store location.
Although the company has not published a full list of closures, locations that are going out of business display a “Closing This Location” banner at the top of their websites, along with a promotion for a 20% off sale.
The stores sell furniture, decor, pantry items, kitchenware, pet supplies and more.
Big Lots reported that furniture comprised 29% of the company’s first-quarter sales, followed by consumables at 17%; seasonal at 16%; soft home goods at 15%; food at 14%; and hard home goods at 9%.
Net sales dropped 10.2% over the year.