Fairless Hills Big Lots Could Stay Open – LevittownNow.com

Big Lots might be keeping its location in Falls Township’s Fairless Hills section open.

The retailer, which has begun liquidating in stores, announced Friday that it is presenting a plan to a bankruptcy court to sell the business to Boston-based Gordon Brothers Retail Partners, an investment company known for buying name brands that are facing trouble.

The sale would allow the “transfer of Big Lots assets, including stores, distribution centers, and intellectual property, to other retailers and companies, including Variety Wholesalers Inc.”

The terms of the deal were not announced, and it still has to be approved by the bankruptcy court.

The Fairless Hills Shopping Center on Lincoln Highway is where the local Big Lots is located.

As of Sunday, a list of stores staying open was not announced or filed in bankruptcy court.

“Variety Wholesalers intends to acquire between 200 and 400 Big Lots stores, which it plans to operate under the Big Lots brand moving forward, and up to two distribution centers. In addition, Variety Wholesalers may employ Big Lots associates at the acquired stores and distribution centers, as well as certain corporate associates needed to support the go-forward footprint,” according to a company statement.

Variety Wholesalers has more than 400 retail stores under the Roses, Roses Express, Maxway, Bill’s Dollar Stores, Super 10, Super Dollar, and Bargain Town banners.

Ohio-headquartered Big Lots continued to advertise store closing sales as of Saturday.

“This sale agreement and transfer present the strongest opportunity to preserve jobs, maximize value for the estate and ensure continuity of the Big Lots brand,” said Bruce Thorn, president and CEO of Big Lots. “We are grateful to our associates nationwide for their grit and resilience throughout this process.”

Lisa Seigies, Variety Wholesalers’ president and CEO, said, “We are excited to partner with Gordon Brothers to provide a path forward for the Big Lots brand and hundreds of its stores. We look forward to working with members of the Big Lots team to realize the exciting opportunities ahead.”

Discount retailer Big Lots announced shortly before Christmas that it would be closing its more than 900 stores after a deal to sell to Nexus Capital Management collapsed.

Founded in 1967, Big Lots has struggled with inflation, declining sales, and increasing interest rates, leading up to its bankruptcy filing in September.

Before this week, the retailer had already closed more than 400 stores after warning of significant operational challenges and a potential default on a 2022 loan that threatened its ability to keep the doors open.

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