The local Big Lots store is set to close its doors for good in the next couple weeks.
The Bellefontaine Big Lots location at 1760 S. Main St., is among the remaining stores set to close as the discount retailer closes down operations, with going-out-of-business sales to begin soon. The closures are part of a nationwide shutdown, as the company prepares to cease operations by early January.
Big Lots, Inc., announced Thursday, Dec. 19, in a press release that it no longer anticipates completing a previously announced asset purchase agreement with Nexus Capital Management, and will be shutting down its remaining stores come the first of the year.
The company began closing some of its 1,500 stores earlier this year, and ramped up the the closures this fall. By late November, more than 400 stores had closed, with fewer than 1,000 remaining.
Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Columbus, the company became known throughout the 1990s as one of the nation’s leading discount retailers. It rebranded to Odd Lots/Big Lots in 1982 and thrived for decades. However, in recent years, the company faced mounting financial struggles, and filed for bankruptcy this past September.
In addition to store closures, Big Lots shut down its distribution center in Columbus in October. Big Lots said in a statement that it will continue to serve customers in-store and online as it prepares for liquidation.