Ohio Weekly News Recap: The Columbus Dispatch’s Top Headlines
Here are some stories you may have missed on Dispatch.com and in the print edition of the Columbus Dispatch.
Big Lots is considering a possible bankruptcy filing, according to a new report that sent the closeout retailer’s shares to an all-time low Thursday morning.
Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, said Big Lots is also seeking investors to avoid filing for bankruptcy. Plans are not finalized and could change, according to Bloomberg.
Big Lots’ share price fell to as low as 55 cents in trading on Thursday morning, down about 40 percent from Wednesday’s closing price.
A possible bankruptcy filing would mean a steep fall for a retailer that was one of the winners of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Three years ago, stock prices reached as high as $70 as consumers, flush with stimulus checks, flocked to Big Lots to stock up on groceries and purchase furniture and other items for their homes.
But the company’s share price has been on the decline since then due to falling sales, and this year the retailer has closed a massive number of underperforming stores.
Earlier this month, The Dispatch reported that Big Lots would close nearly 300 stores nationwide. At one point this year, Big Lots operated about 1,300 stores.
Big Lots did not respond to a request for comment Thursday morning.
Big Lots had previously stated that its regular customer was under financial pressure.
“The consumer environment weakened in the first quarter as both consumer confidence and consumer satisfaction declined since January in part due to concerns about inflation, unemployment and interest rates,” CEO Bruce Thorn told analysts in June after releasing first-quarter financial results in which the retailer’s revenue fell 10% compared to the same quarter in 2023 and the company posted an adjusted loss of $132.3 million.
“In addition, personal savings rates have declined while credit card balances have increased. This shows the pressure our core customers are under as they try to cope with their strained budgets. We remain focused on managing the current economic cycle by controlling the controllable factors,” he said.
Big Lots will announce its second quarter financial results on September 6.
If Big Lots does file for bankruptcy, it would be the second Columbus-based retailer to do so this year, after Express.
@BizMarkWilliams
