Big Lots, Inc. is a
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retail corporation with annual revenues well over $4 billion.
Its department stores focus mainly on selling closeout and overstock merchandise. The company is based in
Columbus, OhioColumbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
,
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and currently operates over 1,400 stores in 47 states. On July 19th 2011, Big Lots became an international retailer when it bought Liquidation World, a Canadian retailer with 89 locations.
A typical store sells a wide variety of merchandise, including toys, furniture, clothing, housewares, and small electronics. Most of the items sold in these stores are purchased as they become available. What is in the store one day may not be there the next, and the store may not get further shipments of those particular items. However, there are some items in the stores, such as foodstuffs, that are replenished on a continual basis.
In many cases, Big Lots uses an existing building, such as a grocery or department store that had either moved or ceased operations. When
Rite Aid IncRite Aid is a drugstore chain in the United States and a Fortune 500 company headquartered in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, near Camp Hill. Rite Aid is the largest drugstore chain on the East Coast and the third largest drugstore chain in the U.S....
began transitioning many Payless Drugstores into the Brand, it moved them into newly designed stand-alone buildings, leaving many open-air plaza storefronts vacant, Big Lots (
Pic 'N' SavePic 'N' Save was, at one time, the second-largest closeout retail chain in the United States. Financial troubles caused the chain to close many of the markets in the late-1990s and early-2000s.-History:...
) opened many new stores in these existing buildings.
History
The Big Lots chain traces its history back to 1967, when Consolidated Stores Corporation was formed in
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
by Sol Shenk. In 1982, Consolidated Stores Corp. opened its first closeout store, called
Odd Lots, in Columbus, Ohio. In 1983, drug store chain
RevcoRevco Discount Drug Stores , once based in Twinsburg, Ohio, was a major drug store chain operating through the Ohio Valley, the Mid-Atlantic states, and the Southeastern United States. The chain's stock was traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker RXR...
bought Consolidated Stores Corp. to prevent a hostile takeover of Revco. However, Revco soon lost focus on its core drug store operations and earnings tumbled, forcing Revco to jettison Consolidated Stores Corp. In 1985, Consolidated Stores Corp. began trading as a separate public company on the American Stock Exchange. Also in 1985, the first Big Lots store was introduced. In 1986, Consolidated Stores Corp. switched to the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol CNS.
Consolidated Stores Corp. was an investor in the
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, which declared
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in 1982. Consolidated took possession of approximately 100
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models, then still at the factory in
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, when the US importer was unable to import them. This unusual excess inventory acquisition is commemorated on the Big Lots web site's
"Closeout Museum" page.
In 1994, Consolidated Stores Corp. acquired Toy Liquidators, adding 82 stores in 38 states. Looking to expand further into the toys business, Consolidated Stores Corp. purchased
KB ToysK·B Toys was a chain of mall-based retail toy stores in the United States. It was founded in 1922 by the Kaufman brothers. K·B operated 605 stores in 44 U.S. states, Puerto Rico as well as Guam. It was privately held in Pittsfield, Massachusetts...
from
Melville CorporationMelville Corporation, formerly based in Rye, New York, was a large retail holding corporation incorporated in 1922 as the Melville Shoe company by Ward Melville. It changed its name to CVS Corporation in 1996...
in 1996. In 2000, Consolidated Stores Corp. sold the
KB ToysK·B Toys was a chain of mall-based retail toy stores in the United States. It was founded in 1922 by the Kaufman brothers. K·B operated 605 stores in 44 U.S. states, Puerto Rico as well as Guam. It was privately held in Pittsfield, Massachusetts...
and Toy Liquidators lines to private equity shops. A year later, the company decided to focus on the Big Lots brand, and on May 16, 2001, Consolidated Stores Corp. changed its name to
Big Lots, Inc. and its ticker symbol from CNS to BLI. By the end of 2002, Big Lots Inc. completed a nationwide conversion to the single
Big Lots brand. In 2002, Big Lots Inc. bought out 'MacFrugals' (
Pic 'N' SavePic 'N' Save was, at one time, the second-largest closeout retail chain in the United States. Financial troubles caused the chain to close many of the markets in the late-1990s and early-2000s.-History:...
) stores for $995 million in stock and converted those still in operation to the Big Lots brand. In recent times, Big Lots has expanded by opening hundreds of new stores.
In the later part of 2005, Big Lots closed 170 stores, including all free-standing
Big Lots Furniture specialty stores. Most Big Lots stores have furniture departments which sell upholstered furniture (sofas, love seats, and recliners), Serta mattresses, fully assembled and ready to assemble furniture. Some, primarily smaller, stores only carry a limited assortment of mattresses and ready to assemble furniture.
On August 3, 2006, Big Lots announced it would change its New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol from BLI to BIG, beginning with trading activity on August 18, 2006.
Odd Lots
- A Store With Odd Junk (1982-1992) (this slogan stayed the same for Odd Lots in 1985 when Big Lots began with their first slogan in which the word "big" was added to between "A" and "store")
Big Lots
- A Big Store With Odd Junk (1985-1992)
- The Closeout Store (1992-2000)
- Brand Names, Closeout Prices (2000-2001)
- Brand Names, Closeout Prices, Happy People (2001)
- Think Extreme Value! Think Big Lots! (current)
Big Lots Wholesale
Big Lots also operates a wholesale division which provides merchandise in bulk for resale from a variety of categories. This is a separate division of Big Lots and does not carry the same merchandise found in the retail stores. Big Lots Wholesale also attends trade shows and has permanent showrooms in Columbus, Ohio; New York; and the Boston and Chicago areas.
Big Lots Canada
On July 19, 2011 Big Lots announced that it had purchased Liquidation World Inc., a Canadian closeout retailer with 89 locations. The cost of the acquisition was $20 million dollars in cash and the assumption of certain liabilities. This represents Big Lots first retail venture outside of the US.
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