Big Lots Plans 500 Stores

Big Lots (Columbus, Ohio) said it could open as many as 500 or more net stores, according to a company press release. According to an investor presentation, the company plans to open at least 50 stores in 2022 and more than 80 each following year, Retail Dive reports.

In its recently released fourth quarter results, Big Lots accomplished a two-year comparable store sales growth of 9 percent, based on a quarter-to-date basis through the end of December 2021.

Bruce Thorn, President and CEO of Big Lots, says, “We are pleased with our holiday performance, with two-year comps for fiscal November and December running up 9 percent. Our outstanding team has worked tirelessly to offset headwinds from the global supply chain to ensure our customer would find what she wanted in our stores and online. While the Omicron variant creates some near-term challenges, we look forward to rounding out another very successful year for the company. Meanwhile, we are pleased to have continued to return capital to shareholders through share repurchases.”