Big Lots plans to close its Richland store and several others nationwide amid financial woes.
The store at 1743 George Washington Way notified customers via email Aug. 2 that it would soon be closing, but did not say when. The email said it was offering discounts storewide on furniture, home decor and essentials.
Big Lots plans to close more than a dozen stores in Washington, but the Kennewick store at 3019 W. Kennewick Ave. is not on the current closure list.
The Richland store will leave another vacancy in the Safeway-anchored plaza in north Richland. Office Depot closed its store at 1717 George Washington Way in early 2024, and the storefront is still empty.
Big Lots Inc. reported a net loss of $205 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024.
Net sales during the same period totaled $1 billion, a 10.2% decrease compared the same period in the previous year.
Bruce Thorn, president and CEO of Big Lots, blamed a pullback in consumer spending by core customers, particularly on high ticket discretionary items.
“We remain focused on managing through the current economic cycle by controlling the controllables. As we move forward, we’re taking aggressive actions to drive positive comp sales growth in the latter part of the year and into 2025…” he said in a statement commenting on first-quarter results.
Big Lots, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, has 1,390 stores in 48 states.