Major Discount Retailer Closing All Stores, Including Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin Locations

Mere months after announcing that over 300 stores would close, a major national retailer known for stocking their stores with discount items will be shuttering nearly 1,000 locations nationwide after failing to recover from its bankruptcy filings.

The chain is Big Lots, and the exact number of stores closing will be 963. This comes after a sale to save the bankrupt retailer fell through, per CNN and a number of other sources. The company had announced that it was selling most of its assets to a private equity firm in September, but Big Lots said in a statement last week it "does not anticipate completing" the transaction.

At the time of the September announcement, there were three Big Lots stores in Iowa, located in Burlington, Davenport, and Des Moines. Of the 300 that initially closed, Davenport and Des Moines were two of them. Now, the Burlington store will follow, along with over 960 others.

Presently, there are 17 Big Lots locations in Illinois, including in Moline, Peru, Quincy, Franklin Park, Peoria, and Springfield. Wisconsin has four, in Green Bay, Janesville, Milwaukee, and Stevens Point, respectively.

"Going out of business" sales at the remaining locations will begin prior to Christmas. Active efforts to save the company will continue, as negotiations with other buyers are expected to take place in hopes of completing a sale by early January.

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Per CNN, up to 555 employees will lose their jobs, including corporate employees, such as the president and CEO:

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 - Big Lots CEO Bruce Thorn, per a press release

At its peak, Big Lots had more than 1,400 stores in the United States. Like so many companies, the corporation has struggled in inflationary times, with customers seeking out value as opposed to lower cost items. In the midst of this, dollar stores have been struggling too.

Even prior to filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Big Lots said they had "substantial doubt" about its ability to remain in business. Before the store took any action, it was said that there was a "significant likelihood" Big Lots would default on a 2022 loan.

Big Lots has been in business for 57 years. If nothing else, now's the time to look into stores in your area to see about finding some deals while you still can. Read more about Big Lots' imminent closing on CNN's website.