Only one Big Lots will remain in Fresno, Clovis after more stores slated for closure
Just one Big Lots store will survive in the Fresno-Clovis area after the troubled retailer’s latest round of closures takes effect.
The store in Clovis on Shaw Avenue is the only one in the two cities not slated to shut down right now.
The Bee was the first to break the news last month that the store on Blackstone Avenue near River Park will close.
Then, this week, employees at two more local stores were notified their locations were also closing: the West Shaw Avenue store in Fresno and the southeast Fresno store at Peach Avenue and Cesar Chavez Boulevard (formerly Kings Canyon Road).
Multiple employees at all three stores confirmed the closures. The corporate headquarters did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
Although Big Lots recently announced it was closing up to 40 stores, the actual number is well over 100 nationwide. At least 54 in California are closing.
Stores in Visalia, Merced, Atwater and Los Banos are closing, along with one location each in Modesto and Turlock. Six stores in Sacramento are also slated to shut down.
The River Park location has already started its going-out-business sale, with many items 10% to 20% off. It has not set a closing date.
It’s not clear when the other stores will close, but at least two employees said they had heard Oct. 13.
What’s happening with Big Lots?
In addition to the Clovis store, locations in Reedley, Hanford and Tulare are expected to remain open — assuming the company survives.
Despite the Ohio-based company’s steep discounts on everything from food to furniture, inflation has hit its customers’ buying power hard. Customers pulled back on spending on big-ticket discretionary items in particular, noted President and CEO Bruce Thorn in a first-quarter earnings news release in June.
In addition to everyday decor and food items, Big Lots also sells sofa sets, recliners, mattresses and patio furniture — higher-priced items that are still less expensive when compared to other stores.
The company lost money in 2022 and 2023, and reported a $205 million loss in the first quarter of this year.
It has hundreds of millions in debt. It may not be able to make all its loan payments, “which raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue,” Thorn said in the SEC filing.
That is driving speculation the company could file for bankruptcy.
This story was originally published August 1, 2024 at 10:36 AM.
