CASPER, Wyo. — Troubled retailer Big Lots announced that it will launch going-out-of-business sales in all of its remaining stores while it continues to maintain its status as a going concern and seek a new buyer.
In a statement released on Thursday, the company said its previously announced buyout deal with Nexus Capital Management was not sufficient in bringing the company out of bankruptcy.
In the statement, the company said that launching the going-out-of-business sales would help protect the company value. According to NPR, a going concern deal when a company is up for sale is meant to show that it still has enough resources to continue operating and does not need to be liquidated.
“We all have worked extremely hard and have taken every step to complete a going concern sale,” said Big Lots President and CEO Bruce Thorn in the release. “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.”
The going-out-of-business sales will be launched online and at the company’s remaining stores, of which it still operates more than 900, including Wyoming’s sole remaining Big Lots store in Casper.
Big Lots announced in August that it was closing 315 stores nationwide, which included the store on 3501 E. Lincolnway in Cheyenne. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September, and initially entered a deal with the private equity firm Nexus Capital Management for it to acquire “substantially all” of Big Lots’ assets.
In its news release in July, Big Lots pinned its struggles on inflation. However, analysts who talked with industry publication Modern Retail said the company’s strategies — such as focusing more on furniture when that segment suffered declines — likely played a larger part.
“Big Lots isn’t expensive per se, but when you look at a lot of the things it sells, you can actually get very similar products, if not better products, cheaper at places like Walmart and Target,” the managing director of GlobalData Retail told Modern Retail. Other similar discount retailers such as HomeGoods saw recent sales increases, they said.
Big Lots is based in Columbus, Ohio, and says it is one of the largest discount retailers in the U.S. with stores in 48 states, according to its website.
