Big Lots to start going-out-of-business sales at all stores, including 4 on LI; Party City also closing stores

Big Lots is preparing to call it quits nationwide, affecting the discount retailer's four remaining stores on Long Island. Another major retailer, Party City, is also closing all its stores, according to a media report. 

Big Lots will start going-out-of-business sales at its stores, after a bankruptcy court-approved deal to sell the company's assets fell through, Big Lots Inc. said in a statement Thursday.

"We all have worked extremely hard and have taken every step to complete a going concern sale. While we remain hopeful that we can close an alternative going concern transaction, in order to protect the value of the Big Lots estate, we have made the difficult decision to begin the [going-out-of-business] process,” Bruce Thorn, Big Lots’ president and CEO, said in the statement.

Big Lots is a closeout retailer selling discounted furniture, home décor, kitchen items, groceries, toys and other goods.

The Columbus, Ohio-based chain, whose furniture sales accounted for 25% of net sales last year, has blamed some of its financial woes on declining home goods sales.

After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September, Big Lots announced in November that a bankruptcy court had approved the retailer’s plan to sell "substantially all" of its assets and business operations to an affiliate of Nexus Capital Management LP, and the sale was expected to close this month.

The deal fell through, but Big Lots is still seeking a sale to Nexus or another company, the retailer said in the statement.

Big Lots had 1,392 locations as of May 4, the end of its fiscal first quarter.

There are now 960 stores, including four remaining on Long Island — in Copiague, Hicksville, Holbrook and West Babylon, according to the website.

Three Long Island stores — in Bay Shore, Carle Place and Centereach — have closed since July.

In its bankruptcy filing on Sept. 9, Big Lots stated it had between $1 billion and $10 billion in liabilities, and the same range in assets.

The retailer employed 27,700 people then, according to the filing.

Big Lots did not immediately respond to Newsday's inquiries, including those about the number of people currently employed nationwide and on Long Island.

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Big Lots saw rising demand for its furniture and other home goods, as shoppers spent stimulus checks and unemployment funds and quarantined consumers bought merchandise to spruce up their homes, Jonathan Ramsden, Big Lots’ chief financial and administrative officer, wrote in a bankruptcy court document.

Then things changed, and inflation played a role, he wrote.

“In the aftermath of COVID-19, the U.S. economy faced inflationary and macroeconomic pressures beyond the company’s control, which adversely impacted the buying power of Big Lots’ core customers, decreased net sales … and increased Big Lots’ selling and administrative expenses,” he wrote.

Big Lots was founded in 1967 by Sol Shenk and initially operated under the name Consolidated International Inc. Over the years, the chain grew to include stores doing business as Big Lots, Odd Lots and other names. In 2001, the company became Big Lots.

Party City closing up shop

After nearly 40 years in business and a 2023 bankruptcy filing, Party City will close all its stores, CNN reported Friday.

The party supply retailer's CEO, Barry Litwin, told corporate employees in a meeting Friday that Party City was “winding down” operations immediately and that Friday would be their last day of employment, CNN reported.

The retailer had more than 700 company-owned and franchise stores in North America as of Oct. 28, according to the latest news release on the company’s website.

The Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey-based retailer has 14 stores on Long Island, including locations in Commack, Centereach, Levittown and New Hyde Park.

Party City Holdco Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2023 and emerged from the restructuring process in October 2023 with nearly 800 stores.

The business effects of the pandemic, including supply chain disruptions, helium shortages, inflationary pressures and temporary store closings, led to Party City’s bankruptcy filing, David Orlofsky, managing director of AlixPartners, a Manhattan-based restructuring firm hired by Party City, wrote in a bankruptcy court document in January 2023.

Party City is considering filing for bankruptcy again, Bloomberg reported last week.

Party City did not immediately respond to Newsday's request for comment.

Shoppers upset over closings

Some Long Island shoppers were disappointed to learn of the store closing plans.

Levittown resident Theresa Faughnan regularly shops at Party City for party and holiday merchandise, she said while shopping in Big Lots in Hicksville Friday night.

"I mean, you could probably get things online or [on] Amazon, but it's just nice to go in the store and see things. So, it's really upsetting that another chain store is closing," said Faughnan, 60.

Gabriel Ruiz, his wife and two daughters, 8 and 9, were picking up a few items from Big Lots in Hicksville Friday night. The Levittown family often finds unique items in the store, said Ruiz, 45.

"At first we were kind of upset because, you know, the stores were closing. And we like to come here to buy stuff that we don't find in any other stores," he said.

By Tory N. Parrish

tory.parrish@newsday.comToryParrish1

Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.