End of the road for Big Lots

Big Lots, the former trash palace that sold a bit of everything on its way to selling … patio furniture and nylon bedding? … is reportedly preparing to go out of business. A deal to sell itself to a private equity group didn't work out, and now the entire chain—900 stores—will be going into clearance mode.

"While we remain hopeful that we can close an alternative going concern transaction, in order to protect the value of the Big Lots estate, we have made the difficult decision to begin the GOB ['going out of business'] process," Bruce Thorn, Big Lots' President and Chief Executive Officer, told Emily Van de Riet at KXII News.

Even the corporate raider types didn't want it. I am told Ollie's is now the place to go for anyone who ever felt joy in a Big Lots before it, as the Washington Post put it, "muddled its brand identity."