I went to Big Lots and saw why the chain is closing stores and filing for bankruptcy

This Big Lots store had several aisles of shelf-stable grocery items, from chips to cake mixes.

Big Lots acquires many products from closeouts, which happen when the retailer’s suppliers get rid of something at a sizable discount.

That strategy extends to food, which Big Lots acquires “for a variety of different reasons, including other retailers canceling orders or going out of business, production overruns, or marketing or packaging changes,” the company wrote in its latest annual filing with the SEC.

Prime is facing several lawsuits, including at least two that claim the brand’s sales this year have been slower than anticipated, BI reported last month.

On average, Big Lots stores had an average of 23,000 square feet of selling space in 2023, according to the company’s annual filing with the SEC. That’s tiny compared to almost any big-box store: The average Walmart takes up 105,000 square feet, according to a company filing.

Yet Big Lots had a lot of departments, from kitchen supplies to furniture to groceries. The selection within each was limited, and it felt to me like the store was trying to be everything at once.

Signs on the mattresses advertised Big Lots’ own credit card, which offer interest-free payments on big purchases.

These shelves were next to a selection of plastic storage containers and other home goods.

I found this puzzle in the toy section for $6. It was one of the most unusual things I found in the store, both because “Sixteen Candles” came out forty years ago and because the manufacturer leaned on the Blockbuster name.

Big Lots customers should still expect “extreme bargains” at its stores despite its ongoing bankruptcy, the company says on a website with information about the filing.

But this 2-for-$5 deal on two-liter bottles of Coca-Cola sodas was representative of the prices I saw at this Big Lots store: Big Lots’ pricing was mostly in-line with other places where I could buy similar stuff.

Big Lots had the range of products that I’d associate with a big-box store like Walmart or Target. But it didn’t have the same selection within each category that I’m used to at those stores.

The company’s focus on closeout merchandise also reminded me of off-price retailers like TJ Maxx and Ross, but those stores seem to have a narrower focus on home goods, clothing, and accessories than Big Lots does.

And if you need ketchup, chips, or other groceries, there’s no shortage of supermarkets near this Big Lots. I counted at least seven within a mile of the store, including an Aldi, a Safeway, and a local organic market — and each has fresh produce and meat as well.

From Sears to Bed Bath & Beyond, plenty of once-prominent retailers have gone through bankruptcies, closed stores, and, in some cases, shut down completely. At the same time, Walmart, Target, and Amazon have continued to attract customers.

Based on my trip there, I don’t see a reason to keep shopping at Big Lots. If the chain wants to survive — and avoid the fate of Sears — it will need to offer shoppers something that they can’t get anywhere else.

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