Big Lots Prepares to Close All 963 Stores

More than 300 Big Lots stores closed this year, and the discount retailer is preparing to close the remaining 963. The company says it is preparing to hold "going out of business" sale at its surviving locations after a deal to sell its assets to private equity firm Nexus Capital Management didn't work out, CNN reports. The chain, which sells furniture and home decor and employed around 30,000 people before the first wave of closures, announced the Nexus deal when it filed for bankruptcy in September. Big Lots blamed factors including inflation and high interest rates for the bankruptcy.

The chain said it is still hopeful that it can reach an alternative deal with Nexus or another company in the weeks ahead, Fox Business reports. "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. He said that while the company believes it still "can close an alternative going concern transaction," they have "made the difficult decision" to begin the going out of business process "in order to protect the value of the Big Lots estate." (More Big Lots stories.)