Big Lots Closing About 300 Stores; California Takes Big Hit
Big Lots has been working to shore up its liquidity during the past few months. Sales tumbled 10.2% to $1 billion in its first quarter, which ended May 4, with a 9.9% decrease in comparable sales. The retailer cited a continued pullback in consumer spending by its core customers.
“While we made substantial progress on improving our business operations in Q1, we missed our sales goals due largely to a continued pullback consumer spending by our core customers, particularly in high ticket discretionary items," CEO Bruce Thorn said in the earnings release.
In its June filing, Big Lots noted it had net losses and used cash in operating activities in 2022, 2023 as well as the first quarter of 2024. While it currently is in compliance with its credit agreements, the retailer said that it "expects to experience further operating losses and expects to experience difficulty remaining in compliance with such covenants."
Big Lots is No. 59 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
This article originally appeared in sister publication Chain Store Age.