COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- While Ollie's Bargain Outlet has acquired more than 60 Big Lots locations, the future of many other of the chain's stores remains unknown as some landlords are objecting to the new owner's restructuring.
Ollie's, a discount retailer based in Pennsylvania, announced in late February it purchased 40 more Big Lots storefronts that were marked for closure after the chain filed for bankruptcy last September. The acquisition, which increases Ollie's ownership of Big Lots stores to 63, includes locations nationwide, including the following in Ohio:
818 S. Main St. in Bowling Green. 540 Water St. in Chardon. 1925 Tiffin Ave. in Findlay. 4633 Roosevelt Blvd. in Middletown."Everything about these stores lines up well with our business and growth strategy," said Eric van der Valk, CEO of Ollie's, in a release. "These locations are the right size, come with favorable lease terms, are located in existing and adjacent trade areas, and have long serviced value conscious consumers."
Why the 2025 Columbus auto show was canceledShortly after Ollie's announcement, U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware approved plans for North Carolina-based Variety Wholesalers to acquire the leases of 118 other Big Lots stores. However, Variety's acquisition is short of the 200 storefronts the company had said it would take over when Gordon Brothers Retail Partners bought Big Lots in January.
Court documents show that Variety's list shrunk because of landlord objections, stating some of "the landlords have objected, either formally or informally, to one or more aspects of the relief set out." Still, Variety and Gordon Brothers said they "are engaging, or will engage, in discussions with these landlords regarding potential resolution."
Variety's initial list of 200 Big Lots stores it was planning to acquire included 27 in Ohio and four in the Columbus area. Of the 118 that were approved earlier this month, 14 are in Ohio, including a Reynoldsburg location at 6300 E. Livingston Ave.
Gordon Brothers is reorganizing Big Lots' stores nationwide while also sorting out the chain's Columbus headquarters. In late January, the company entered into an agreement with OhioHealth to sell the retailer's 24-acre corporate headquarters in northeast Columbus for $36 million.
‘Till death do us pot:’ Couples invited to apply to win dream cannabis wedding in OhioIf approved, the sale would expand OhioHealth's New Albany footprint, as the company already operates an emergency care center and a medical campus with an urgent care along nearby Hamilton Road. Big Lots announced in a city notice last year that 555 employees based at the East Dublin Granville Road headquarters will be terminated. The letter said the "mass layoffs" were expected to begin the week of Dec. 29 and conclude by this April.
Big Lots' December notice of mass layoffs followed another announcement that the chain would begin "going out of business" sales at all of its remaining locations after failing to complete a previously announced $765 million sale to Nexus Capital Management, a private equity firm.
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