Discount retailer Big Lots says it is preparing to start going out of business sales (GOB) at all of its remaining stores after a deal to sell the company fell through.
The U.S. chain closed 400 stores earlier this year, with 963 stores remaining across the country.
Now the remaining stores are set to begin closing sales with the exact timeline for unclear.
"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 to protect the value of the Big Lots estate, we have made the difficult decision to begin the GOB process," Bruce Thorn, Big Lots' President and Chief Executive Officer, said.
Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September, weeks after announcing plans to close 340 stores across the United States. In a statement, the company said the store closures were part of a sale agreement with a Nexus Capital Management LP affiliate.
"The actions we are taking today will enable us to move forward with new owners who believe in our business and provide financial stability, while we optimize our operational footprint, accelerate improvement in our performance, and deliver on our promise to be the leader in extreme value," Thorn had said back then.
In September, Big Lots said the key driving factors behind its Nexus merger decision were high inflation and interest rates, which have reduced customer spending on its main products.
The company struggled to stay afloat and it resorted to going through a court-supervised process to continue operations.
The company hoped to sell all its assets and business operations to Nexus, but the agreement fell apart.
The reason was that the company's inventory was valued lower than anticipated, Bloomberg reported.
Big Lots is currently in discussions with Nexus and another potential buyer to explore the possibility of saving the chain.
