Connecticut To Be Down To 5 Big Lots Stores With 2 More Closings

CONNECTICUT — It's down to five Big Lots stores in Connecticut after two more appeared on the corporate hit list.

The two are:

• 1235 Farmington Ave. in Bristol
• 78 Frontage Rd. in East Haven

Liquidation sales for the stores are being advertised on the Connecticut store locator on the Big Lots website. Right now, the inventory is up to 25 percent off.

The five surviving stores in Connecticut are:

• East Hartford at 940 Silver Lane
• Middletown at 820 Washington St.
• Wallingford at 968 N Colony Road
• North Haven at 380 Universal Drive N
• Derby at 600 New Haven Ave.

In a filing with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission submitted in July, Big Lots officials divulged plans to close as many as 40 of its 1,392 stores nationwide and the discount retailer warned in a regulatory report that it has "substantial doubts" it can continue as a functioning business.

Big Lots is based in Columbus, Ohio.

In the SEC filing, company officials said there is a "significant likelihood" that Big Lots won't be able to meet the terms of a credit agreement. Big Lots in June reported a net loss of $205 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2024.

"We missed our sales goals due largely to a continued pullback in consumer spending by our core customers, particularly in high ticket discretionary items," Big Lots President and CEO Bruce Thorn said.

In August, the announced closings were:

• Windsor at 560 Windsor Ave.
• Newington at 3105 Berlin Turnpike.
• New Milford at 169 Danbury Road.
• Waterbury at 650 Wolcott St.
• Torrington at 1931 E Main St.
• Norwich at 42 Town St.

The stores shuttered in July were:

• Manchester on Pleasant Valley Road
• Milford on Turnpike Square
• Waterford on Boston Post Road