Discount Retailer Making Comeback With Plans For 5 MI Stores

MICHIGAN — Discount retailer Big Lots has announced it is reopening 132 stores next month, including five in Michigan.

Variety Wholesalers, which acquired 219 Big Lots locations in January following the retail chain’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in September, announced the re-openings on Monday. Variety Wholesalers operates more than 400 stores across 18 states under brands such as Roses Discount Stores, Roses Express, Maxway and now Big Lots.

"We're excited to bring an additional 132 Big Lots locations back to life in May," Veriety Wholsalers CEO Lisa Seigies said in a statement. president and CEO “The customer response to the newly expanded assortment of fresh inventory and great deals has been overwhelmingly positive. The Big Lots stores opening in May show our continued commitment to providing the best value to our customers.”

The reopenings will occur in two phases on May 1 and 15. The Michigan locations reopening are in: Burton, Flint, Port Huron, Shelby Township and Southgate.

In December, Big Lots announced that it had not completed its previously announced purchase agreement with Nexus Capital Management. "We all have worked extremely hard and have taken every step to complete a going concern sale," Big Lots CEO Bruce Thorn said in a statement issued in December. "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 GOB process."

The following month, the company assisting Big Lots through its bankruptcy proceedings announced its plans to sell the leases of more than 460 stores across the country, including all 32 of the discount retailer chain's Michigan locations.

Founded in 1967, the company operated in its infancy as Consolidated International and operated closeout and discount stores under a variety of names. In 2001, the various store names and company were converted to the single national Big Lots brand.