Big Lots closing stores nationwide. Are Ohio locations still open? What we know

Big Lots announced plans to close 35-40 stores this year, following a June 13 bankruptcy filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The discount chain, headquartered in Columbus, cited “elevated inflation” and a significant decrease in consumer spending as reasons behind the closures. According to the filing from Big Lots, “In 2024, the U.S. economy has continued to face macroeconomic challenges, including elevated inflation, which has adversely impacted the buying power of our customers,” the company stated. 

Big Lots has 102 Ohio locations and currently operates more than 1,350 stores in the U.S., down from 1,425 in early 2023.

Plans to shut down dozens of stores remain underway, but the company intended to open three more locations, according to the bankruptcy filing.

Here’s what we know about the fate of Big Lots’ Ohio locations.

Are Ohio Big Lots locations closing?

Ohio Big Lots stores appear to be safe for now, based on the company website. While the company has not released a full list of store closures, none of Ohio’s 102 locations were listed as closing, which is marked by banners on the webpages as “Closing this location.”

Where are Big Lots stores in Ohio?

Ohio is No. 4 in the nation for the number of Big Lots stores with 102, behind Texas (116), California (109) and Florida (106). The discount chain has two locations in Akron, one in Canton, five in Cincinnati and five in Columbus, according to its website.

Additionally, Big Lots operates several stores in Toledo and Cleveland and has many locations near Ohio’s biggest cities, including Dublin, Grove City, Blue Ash, Milford, Middletown, Miamisburg, Mentor and Beachwood.

Big Lots also has 40 locations in Kentucky, including in Covington and Newport near Cincinnati.

Surge in bankruptcies

June saw the highest level of bankruptcies since the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, according to a report by the Wall Street firm S&P Global. 

This year’s bankruptcies have totaled 346, “higher than any comparable figure in the prior 13 years,” S&P said. “High interest rates, supply chain issues and slowing consumer spending continue to weigh on struggling companies,” the note states. 

From March 2022 to July 2023, the Fed hiked its key interest rate from near zero to a range of 5.25% to 5%, a 23-year high, in an effort to tame a pandemic-induced inflation spike.

Recent reports underscore that inflation eased notably in May, with a key measure the Fed follows closely at 2.6%. That’s above the Fed’s 2% goal but the lowest since March 2021 and down from a peak of 5.6% in mid-2022.

But Jerome Powell, who chairs the Federal Reserve, has maintained a cautious stance about lowering rates since inflation unexpectedly picked up in the first quarter following a significant slowdown last year.