Big Lots is closing dozens of stores nationwide — what about Fresno? Here’s the latest

Big Lots is closing up to 40 stores nationwide — and a Fresno store appears to be among them.

Employees are telling customers at the north Blackstone Avenue location that the store will close. The store is in the Northgate shopping center, just south of River Park.

The company has not released a closing date, though it will likely be several weeks away. Big Lots headquarters did not return a message seeking comment and a store manager in Fresno said she was not authorized to comment when reached by phone.

Another worker also posted on social media that the store is closing.

The Blackstone store is the only one in Fresno or Clovis that is closing, an employee said. A sale could start as soon as Friday, when “store closing” signs are expected to be posted.

The store moved in 2019 from its previous location on Blackstone Avenue near Barstow Avenue.

The discounter said it plans to close between 35 and 40 stores in 2024, while opening three new stores, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Despite Big Lots’ steep discounts on everything from food to furniture, inflation has hit its customers’ buying power hard, it said.

The company lost money in 2022 and 2023, and reported a $205 million loss in the first quarter of this year.

It has hundreds of millions in debt. It may not be able to make all its loan payments, “which raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue,” Big Lots said in the SEC filing.

The overall economic environment is hurting the segment of people who shop at Big Lots, said President and CEO Bruce Thorn in a first-quarter earnings news release in June.

“While we made substantial progress on improving our business operations in Q1, we missed our sales goals due largely to a continued pullback in consumer spending by our core customers, particularly in high ticket discretionary items.”

In addition to everyday decor and food items, Big Lots also sells sofa sets, recliners, mattresses and patio furniture — higher-priced items that are still discounted compared to other stores.

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