Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings is scooping up leases for seven former locations of its bankrupt rival, Big Lots.
The stores include one each in Georgia, Illinois and Louisiana and four in Wisconsin, according to court documents. The price is about $620,000, subject to potential adjustments by the landlords.
“These stores are the right size, located in good trade areas and have served value-oriented customers for years,” Ollie’s CEO John Swygert said in a statement.
In addition, he said, most of the stores are in the Midwest, where Ollie’s recently opened a distribution center, in Princeton, Illinois.
The former Big Lots stores are in Thompson, Georgia, Lockport, Illinois, and Natchitoches, Louisiana, with the Wiscon stores in Fond Du Lac, Mount Pleasant, Sheboygan and West Bend, according to court documents.
As a result of the acquisition, Ollie’s plans to reshuffle its store-opening plans “to maximize new store productivity and minimize pre-opening expenses,” but the company will stick with opening 50 stores in its current fiscal year, Swygert added.
The background: The deal is the second in which Ollie’s has bought stores from a stricken competitor.
Earlier this year, Ollie’s paid $14.6 million for 11 Texas stores formerly operated by 99 Cents Only Stores, a retailer that went bankrupt in April. Big Lots filed for bankruptcy earlier this month.
Both Big Lots and 99 Cents cited ongoing challenges to retail sales, including the impact of inflation on their customers.
Ollie’s, which operates about 530 stores, appears to be riding out the pressure. In August, the company upped its forecast for sales and adjusted net income for the current fiscal year, which ends Feb. 1.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include the locations of the former Big Lots stores.
