Big Lots: “Serve big. Save lots. Big Lots.”

June 14, 2020

Big Lots, Inc. is an American retail company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio 
with 1,401 stores in 47 states.

Big Lots 1,401 U.S. Store Locations

In 1967, Sol Shenk formed the Consolidated Stores Corporation in Columbus,Ohio. In 1982, it opened its first closeout store, called Odd Lots, in the same city.

Sometimes, in business, things get complicated.
In 1983, the drug store chain, Revco, bought New Jersey closeout retailer Odd Lot Trading Co. As Consolidated’s Odd Lots stores expanded from Columbus, Ohio, Revco did not take well to another closeout retailer having a similar name. So, Consolidated Stores Corporation agreed that it would open stores that were outside of a prescribed radius. And, that’s when the name Odd Lots was changed to Big Lots.

Consolidated Stores Corp. went public in 1985 and 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.

So, what does Big Lots sell?
Pretty much everything for your home. From furniture for your living room and patio, to home electronics, bed and bath linens, fashions and footwear and so much more. Big Lots really is a one-stop-shop.

Big Lots wants its customers to come back, so it sticks to its low price promise.

Find a competitor’s identical item
at a lower price and
WE’LL MATCH THE PRICE*

In the mid-1990s, Consolidated Stores Corp. acquired Toy Liquidators, adding 82 stores in 38 states. In 1996, further expansion took place when they purchased KB Toys from Melville Corporation. In 1997, still in expansion mode, Big Lots Inc. bought ‘MacFrugals’ (Pic ‘N’ Save) stores for $995 million in stock, and eventually converted those to the Big Lots brand.

In 2001, Consolidated Stores Corp. changed its name to Big Lots, Inc. 

On August 18, 2006, Big Lots began trading under the ticker symbol, BIG, on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Canadian Connection
In July 2011, Big Lots announced that it had purchased Liquidation World Inc., a Canadian closeout retailer with 89 locations, for $20 million in cash and the assumption of some liabilities. That was Big Lots first retail venture outside of the U.S. The first Canadian Big Lots locations opened in April 2013 in the Ontario cities of Burlington, Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and Thunder Bay. Sadly, due to poor sales, Big Lots exited the Canadian marketplace in 2014.

Gloria Sauvé
Communications and Marketing

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