Popular Retailer Closing Up To 40 Stores--Any In Massachusetts?

The worst thing in the world for us consumers is when a favorite restaurant or retail store that we've had a long history with suddenly closes down. Some of us (myself included) are still dealing with the loss of Papa Ginos on Merrill Road in Pittsfield which closed down a few years back.

Many long-time Berkshire residents are still lamenting the losses of awesome businesses such as Kmart(the Pittsfield location which, by the way, was the first-ever Kmart in New England, closed in 1997), Bradlees, Ames, the Dakota, Macy's, Best Buy, and Bonanza just to name a few.

If you follow the news at all, you probably know that retail giant Walmart closed over 20 of its locations across the country last year in 2023. And the company has closed a few more in the first half of 2024.

Now it appears that another popular home retailer will soon be closing at least 35, possibly 40, of their stores nationwide. According to ChainStoreAge, Ohio-based retailer Big Lots announced it plans on closing between 35 to 40 stores this year.

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ChainStoreAge reports that the popular retail chain says that the rising cost of inflation is the reason why. Big Lots cited the company had net losses in 2022, 2023, and so far in 2024.

The retail chain hinted that it may go out of business entirely, but also stated that it will do everything possible to keep that from happening. While the company at this time did not specify which stores will be closing, they currently operate over 1,300 stores in 48 states.

For more on the story, visit ChainStoreAge's website here.

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