COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Another round of Big Lots stores are reopening in Ohio on Thursday, including several in the Columbus area.
The openings mark the third wave of stores relaunching this year by Variety Wholesalers, the North Carolina company that acquired 220 Big Lots shops when the chain underwent new ownership in January. Variety’s first round reopened nine stores in early April, followed by nearly 60 storefronts in the second wave earlier this month, including seven in Ohio.
The third round is relaunching more than 70 storefronts across 13 states on Thursday, including the following eight Ohio locations:
- 3946 W. Alexis Road in Toledo.
- 1800 E. State St. in Fremont.
- 825 Cleveland St. in Elyria.
- 2837 Winchester Pike in Columbus.
- 4260 W. Broad St. in Columbus.
- 3961 Hoover Road in Grove City.
- 2050 E. Dorothy Lane in Kettering.
- 1700 E. Main Street in Lancaster.
“The customer response to the newly expanded assortment of fresh inventory and great deals has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Lisa Seigies, CEO of Variety. “The Big Lots stores opening in May show our continued commitment to providing the best value to our customers with apparel for the family, everyday needs for the home, kitchen, and pantry plus a huge selection of famous brands.”
The North Carolina company’s remaining Big Lots locations are reopening through early June, leading up to a grand opening celebration across all stores this fall.
While Variety is continuing to operate these 220 locations as Big Lots stores, several other companies have bought shuttered shops from Gordon Brothers, the brand’s new owner, that will become part of their chains. HomeBuys is taking over two former Ohio Big Lots, one of which is in Pickerington at 1171 Hill Road North.
Aldi is purchasing nine locations across eight states, Burlington is adding 12 stores across nine states to their collection of 22 Big Lots shops, and Tractor Supply Co. is picking up 15 stores across 14 states. Ollie’s purchased 40 storefronts that were marked for closure, increasing the chain’s ownership of former Big Lots stores to 63, including four in Ohio.
Big Lots filed for bankruptcy last September and was almost acquired by a top Dollar Shave Club and Toms investor for $765 million before the sale fell through. The chain then secured a last-minute sale in December to Gordon Brothers, who has since been reorganizing Big Lots’ U.S. stores while also sorting out the chain’s Columbus headquarters.
In late January, Big Lots entered into an agreement with OhioHealth to sell the retailer’s 24-acre corporate headquarters in northeast Columbus for $36 million. Big Lots announced in a city notice last year that 555 employees based at the East Dublin Granville Road headquarters will be terminated. The letter said the “mass layoffs” were expected to conclude by April.