Big Lots Stores, Inc. (stylized as Big Lots!) is an American
retail company
Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
headquartered in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
with over 1,400 stores in 47 states.
History
The Big Lots chain traces its history back to 1967 when Consolidated Stores Corporation was formed in Ohio by Sol Shenk. In 1982, Consolidated Stores Corp. opened its first closeout store, called Odd Lots, in Columbus, Ohio. In 1983, drug store chain
Revco
Revco Discount Drug Stores (known simply as Revco or Revco, D.S.), 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 ...
bought New Jersey closeout retailer Odd Lot Trading Co. As Consolidated's Odd Lots stores expanded from Columbus, Revco took issue with the fact that another closeout retailer was operating a chain with national aspirations that had a similar name as the Revco-owned subsidiary. Consolidated Stores Corp. agreed to limit their use of the Odd Lots name to stores located within a certain radius of Columbus. Beyond the radius, Consolidated began opening stores under the Big & Small Lots name. Eventually, all Odd Lots stores were rebranded as Big Lots. In 1985, Consolidated Stores Corp. began trading as a separate public company on the American Stock Exchange. 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
DeLorean Motor Company
The DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) was an American automobile manufacturer formed by automobile industry executive John DeLorean in 1975. It is remembered for the one model it produced—the stainless steel DeLorean sports car featuring gull- ...
, which declared
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
in 1982. Consolidated took possession of approximately 100
DeLorean models, then still at the factory in Northern Ireland, when the U.S. importer was unable to import them. This unusual excess inventory acquisition is commemorated on the Big Lots website's "Closeout Museum" page.
In 1994, Consolidated Stores Corp. acquired Toy Liquidators, adding 82 stores in 38 states. Looking to expand further into the toy business, Consolidated Stores Corp. purchased
KB Toys
K·B Toys (also known as Kay Bee Toys) was an American chain of mall-based retail toy stores. The company was founded in 1922 as Kaufman Brothers, a wholesale candy store. The company opened a wholesale toy store in 1946, and ended its candy who ...
from
Melville Corporation
Melville Corporation, formerly based in Rye, New York, was a large retail holding company incorporated by Ward Melville in 1922 from Melville Shoe Company. It became CVS Corporation in 1996 under a massive reorganization plan. The company trade ...
in 1996; ironically, shortly afterward Melville purchased Revco and folded it into the
CVS Pharmacy
CVS Pharmacy, Inc. is an American retail corporation. A subsidiary of CVS Health, it is headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. It was also known as, and originally named, the Consumer Value Store and was founded in Lowell, Massachusetts, in ...
chain on its way to eventually becoming
CVS Health
CVS Health Corporation (previously CVS Corporation and CVS Caremark Corporation) is an American healthcare company that owns CVS Pharmacy, a retail pharmacy chain; CVS Caremark, a pharmacy benefits manager; and Aetna, a health insurance prov ...
, making the "Odd Lots" dispute moot.
In 1997, Big Lots Inc. bought out 'MacFrugals' (
Pic 'N' Save
Pic 'N' Save Corporation (later MacFrugals) was at one time the second-largest closeout retail chain in the United States. Financial troubles caused the chain to close many stores in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
History
William Zimmerman fou ...
) stores for $995 million in stock, eventually converting them to the Big Lots brand.
In 2000, Consolidated Stores Corp. sold the
KB Toys
K·B Toys (also known as Kay Bee Toys) was an American chain of mall-based retail toy stores. The company was founded in 1922 as Kaufman Brothers, a wholesale candy store. The company opened a wholesale toy store in 1946, and ended its candy who ...
and Toy Liquidators lines to private equity shops. A year later, Consolidated Stores Corp. changed its name to ''Big Lots, Inc.'' and its ticker symbol from CNS to BLI.
In the later part of 2005, Big Lots closed 170 stores, including all free-standing ''Big Lots Furniture'' specialty stores.
On August 3, 2006, Big Lots announced that it would change its New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol from BLI to BIG, beginning with trading activity on August 18, 2006.
File:OddLotsBerwick.jpg , Big Lots Store No. 1, Berwick Plaza Shopping Center, Columbus, Ohio (Before and after); The first store in the Big Lots chain was located in the former Kroger
The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States.
Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cinci ...
store in the same shopping center. The store was later relocated to the former Buckeye Mart/Sarco building also pictured.
File:Big Lots.jpg , This Murrieta, California Big Lots was a former Pic 'N' Save
Pic 'N' Save Corporation (later MacFrugals) was at one time the second-largest closeout retail chain in the United States. Financial troubles caused the chain to close many stores in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
History
William Zimmerman fou ...
store.
File:Storeentrance.JPG , Entrance to Big Lots in Englewood, Colorado, which was a former Children's Palace.
Big Lots Wholesale
Big Lots operated a wholesale division which provided merchandise in bulk. Big Lots closed its wholesale division at the end of the 2013
fiscal year
A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...
. The Columbus-based closeout retailer had conducted wholesale operations through Big Lots Wholesale, ''Consolidated International'' and
Wisconsin Toy
Big Lots Stores, Inc. (stylized as Big Lots!) is an American retail company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio with over 1,400 stores in 47 states.
History
The Big Lots chain traces its history back to 1967 when Consolidated Stores Corporation w ...
for more than 34 years.
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 in cash and the assumption of certain liabilities. This represents Big Lots first retail venture outside of the US. The first Big Lots location in Canada opened in April 2013 in
Orillia, Ontario, followed by
Burlington
Burlington may refer to:
Places Canada Geography
* Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador
* Burlington, Nova Scotia
* Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington"
* Burlington, Prince Edward Island
* Burlington Bay, no ...
,
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...
,
St. Catharines, and
Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population ...
(all in Ontario as well). Big Lots exited the Canadian marketplace in 2014, citing poor sales.
See also
*
List of S&P 400 companies
This is a list of companies having stocks that are included in the S&P MidCap 400 (S&P 400) stock market index. The index, maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices, comprises the common stocks of 400 mid-cap, mostly American, companies. Although called ...
References
External links
*
*
Official websiteBig Lots SEC Filings
{{Authority control
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Companies based in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area
American companies established in 1967
Retail companies established in 1967
Discount stores of the United States
Toy retailers of the United States
Variety stores
1967 establishments in Ohio
1980s initial public offerings