Another brick and mortar goes belly up under Biden: Big Lots

The retail giant Big Lots on Thursday announced it was commencing a company-wide "going out of business" sale at all of its locations, marking another major business that went belly-up during President Joe Biden's administration.

The retailer filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September and closed more than 400 stores in an effort to stave off a total closure, per The Hill. But the company was unable to close its expected purchase agreement with Nexus Capital Management by its deadline. However, Big Lots noted that it was still working on finding and completing an alternative sale that would reverse the closures.

Other major companies have also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this year, including 99 Cents Only stores, Sam Ash Music, and Rue 21. Red Lobster also filed for bankruptcy but was able to restructure in order to avoid a full closure.

Big Lots CEO and President Bruce Thorn confirmed that the company is still hoping to complete a different transaction that could save the company, but that the company was starting its "going out of business" process in the meantime.

"We all have worked extremely hard and have taken every step to complete a going concern sale," Thorn said in a statement. "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."

Big Lots is expected to continue serving its customers in-stores and online while the sale is going on, but it is not clear how long the sales will last.

The company currently has more than 900 stores nationwide.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.