Dive Brief:
- Joining other major retailers with early holiday deals, Big Lots is offering Black Friday discounts every Friday until Dec. 22, the retailer announced on Friday. The retailer is only offering discounts in stores during Friday store hours.
- This month, the retailer on Fridays is offering 50% off single items or collections. The company is promoting these deals on Facebook, Instagram and via email to loyalty rewards members.
- Bruce Thorn, president and CEO of Big Lots, said in a statement that the retailer is offering discounts on food, holiday decor, furniture, gifts and other items.
Dive Insight:
The holiday season is essential for every retailer, but this year’s holiday season is critical for Big Lots. So far, the retailer has reported a slowdown in its quarterly earnings reports.
Its Q1 2023 net sales dropped 18.3% year over year to $1.12 billion. Its furniture comp sales saw the greatest drop at 27%, followed by seasonal items (25%), soft home goods (17%) and hard home goods (15%), according to its first-quarter earnings report. In an earnings call regarding the quarter, the retailer announced plans to close four of its forward distribution centers in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Washington and Indiana to cut costs and eliminate excess capacity.
Those difficulties carried into the second quarter of 2023, with the retailer reporting a 15.4% decline in net sales to $1.14 billion. As a result of completing the sale and lease back of 22 owned stores and its distribution center in Apple Valley, California, the retailer brought in net proceeds of $294 million.
In an August earnings call, Thorn attributed the company’s hardships to the impact inflation is having on low-income customers. Its ongoing struggles have put the company at risk for bankruptcy, according to the credit reporting agency CreditRiskMonitor.
Amid its challenges, the retailer is vying for consumer dollars alongside other major retailers announcing sales in recent weeks. Last month, Amazon announced its fall Prime member sale, set to take place Oct. 10 to Oct. 12. Shortly thereafter, Walmart, Target and Best Buy introduced their own October deals.
“This holiday season, Big Lots is making it easier than ever for shoppers to take advantage of some of the year’s biggest bargains, with up to 50% off one-day deals every Friday through Christmas,” Thorn said in a statement.
