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BRADLEY — Although Big Lots store ownership recently announced the company would be closing its entire network of stores, an 11th-hour acquisition will save some locations.
Which locations will be saved is not yet known by the purchase of hundreds of stores from Gordon Brothers Retail Partners.
Gordon Brothers specializes in the acquisition of distressed companies, according to published reports.
Bradley is the location of a 50,000 square foot Big Lots. What the fate will be for the Kankakee County store is unknown. A list of stores and distribution centers included in the deal has not been released.
The Bradley store is at 185 N. Kennedy Drive, immediately east of the Perry Farm property.
The Bradley Big Lots had previously been the site of a Festival Foods grocery store.
According to reports, Gordon Brothers will then transfer Big Lots’ stores, distribution centers and other assets to others retailers.
In addition, Variety Wholesalers Inc., which owns more than 400 discount stores, mainly in the nation’s southwest and mid-Atlantic regions, plans to acquire 200-400 Big Lots and operate them under the Big Lots name.
According to a Fox 32 Chicago report, Bruce Thorn, Big Lots president and CEO, said this sale agreement and transfer is the strongest opportunity to preserve jobs, maximize value for the estate and “ensure continuity of the Big Lots brand.”
Based in Columbus, Ohio, Big Lots, founded in 1967, sells furniture, home decor, mattresses, groceries and other items.
When it filed for bankruptcy in September, it said inflation and high interest rates caused consumers to pull back on the purchase of home and seasonal products, both key categories for the retailer.
Big Lots had been working on a sale of its holdings to the Los Angeles-based private equity firm, Nexus Capital Management. That deal, however, fell apart on Dec. 20.
Nexus previously brought floral delivery service FTD out of bankruptcy in 2019.
Big Lots then partnered with Gordon Brothers to conduct going-out-of-business sales at 869 U.S. locations. The company has 963 stores nationwide.
The Bradley Big Lots is one of 17 stores the retailer has in Illinois. In addition to Bradley, Illinois locations include Mattoon, Peoria, Danville, Decatur and Moline, among others.
https://daily-journal.com/news/local/bradley_news/bradley-big-lots-hope/article_bab321d6-c6dc-11ef-b01c-73dbcc0af72d.html