Fans of the beleaguered retail chain Big Lots will be happy to learn that the first locations to reopen after its bankruptcy last year are currently undergoing a cleaning, remodeling, and re-merchandising process. Their reopening, the first in a series of four waves of “soft openings,” is scheduled for next month. Heres what you need to know about when and where Big Lots stores will reopen.
Big Lots ‘first wave’ locations
Variety Wholesalers, the North Carolina-based retail company that has taken control of hundreds of the ailing retailer’s stores, has confirmed with Fast Company that it is gearing up to reopen some of the locations that it has acquired.
As Fast Company previously reported, as many as 200 Big Lots stores were assigned to Variety Wholesalers as part of a deal with Gordon Brothers, the liquidation firm that took control of the retailer. The locations will reopen in four waves from April through early June. Fast Company has now learned that the first of those waves is underway.
The first wave of Big Lots store reopenings will encompass nine stores in six states across the South. Those locations are:
Kentucky
1342 Indian Mound Dr, Mount Sterling, KY
Louisiana
755 Veterans Memorial Blvd, Metairie, LA
Mississippi
2605 W Main St, Tupelo, MS
5778 Hwy 80 E, Pearl, MS
North Carolina
1432 E Dixie Dr, Asheboro, NC
Tennessee
1041 S Riverside Dr, Clarksville, TN
744 Nashville Pike, Gallatin, TN
220 Dickson Plaza Dr, Dickson, TN
Virginia
2911 Hershberger Rd NW, Roanoke, VA
Big Lots reopening date
Jeff King, Variety Wholesalers vice president of sales and marketing, told Fast Company that the company began the necessary work on March 3 to reopen the locations. He confirmed that the nine locations listed above will have their soft openings on Thursday, April 10.
The stores will remain closed for a period of time before then so Variety Wholesalers can perform necessary work, which includes cleaning the locations, as well as remodeling the stores and bringing in new categories of merchandise.
King also confirmed plans for the second wave of Big Lots opening. He said that wave would include considerably more locationsanother 70 storesand that those stores would reopen on Thursday, May 1.
Big Lots back from the brink
Its fair to say that 2024 was the worst year in Big Lots’ 57-year history. After suffering financial difficulties for years, Big Lots announced in December that it would be going out of business and closing all remaining 870 locations, and thus seeing the elimination of 27,000 jobs.
Gordon Brothers purchased Big Lots and had been managing the stores closures when, in the final days of 2024, Variety Wholesalers swooped in, agreeing to buy at least 200 locations from the liquidator to keep the chain going under the Big Lots brand. Variety is the owner of several other discount chain stores, including Roses, Bills Dollar Stores, Super Dollar, and Bargain Town.
Other states besides the ones listed above that are expected to see Big Lots stores reopen include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and West Virginia.
