Are bargain closeout stores disappearing?

[DodgerGirl]

When my cousins were little my aunt used to be hooked on bargain closeout store chains such as Big Lots and turned my mom into a fan of bargain closeout stores and my aunt used to buy my cousins toys from Big Lots when they were little and now I seem to notice that bargain closeout stores seem to be dying and are now replaced with stores like Factory2U Dollar Tree Dollar General Five Below and DD's Discounts and I would like to know the reason? Is it because stores like TJ Maxx and Burlington Coat Factory and Ross Dress For Less are now trying to be like Factory2U and Big Lots and with dollar stores being popular is the main reason why bargain closeout stores are slowly dying? Because it used to be that if you wanted cheap deals on anything from clothing to home decor toys and kitchen appliances and even food you could easily look at stores like Ollie's Bargain Mart to find the best deals and then you had Tuesday Morning which was a Factory 2U type store that sold anything for a good price. But I think why so many bargain closeout stores went bankrupt is because of the success of Dollar General and Dollar Tree and they always seem to have good deals

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

Maybe it depends on where you live,
We had a BigLots but it closed years ago. I can travel 10 miles N to go to another. It's a bigger store than ours was. When I shopped in metro area of Phoenix, they had the nicest, biggest BigLots, I had seen!
We now have an Ollies, that is what I would think is a bargain closeout store. I finally ventured in and all I bought was a young reader book for my 9yr old GS to read in the car driving to Hockey so he can get his reading time in. BUT, they did have things that I thought were very much reduced in price so I understand the enticement to go back!

 

[hertamaniac]

Dollar General had a very poor earnings report recently and the stock price took a major hit. I think they cited financially constrained consumers as the primary driver for not meeting expectations. I expect them to close some stores along with Big Lots.

 

[tvguy]

These stores specialized in selling surplus production of products. Fewer and fewer manufacturers are producing product on spec, these days they only make items they have orders for. So the supply of items available at a discount is drying up. And these stores can't compete if they have to pay full wholesale price for their inventory.
I suspect Big Lots will be totally out of business in the next year.
This is also why we have "supply chain" issues if a factory has an issue, like a fire, or a flood. There are no long other factories to make up production.

 

[leebee]

We still have Big Lots, TJMaxx, Marshalls, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, etc here in Maine... NH too, as far as I have seen.

 

[Babs Johnson]

The nearest Big Lots has a “Store Closing” banner hanging outside, but there are a few others in the area remaining open for now.

 

[Meriweather]

We still have Big Lots, TJMaxx, Marshalls, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, etc here in Maine... NH too, as far as I have seen.

We do too....quite a few Big Lots and also Ross

 

[willowsnn3]

Our local Big Lots are closing here, but truthfully I haven't found their prices to be reasonable in years now. We have Ollie's almost right across from Big Lots with the same items for less. I usually only go when they send out their 15% off coupons tho.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

The nearest Big Lots has a “Store Closing” banner hanging outside, but there are a few others in the area remaining open for now.

The one near me is the same. Heck, it might be the same one for all I know.

I didn't shop there often, so I can't speak to Big Lots, but the Dollar General closest to me is a pigsty. It's always dirty and everything is thrown everywhere, not a pleasant shopping experience. For things I can but there, I go to Family Dollar.

 

[TippyThomas]

It was announced that the Big Lots near me was closing but I haven't seen any evidence of that yet.

 

[bcla]

The last time I had a look at a Big Lots store, most of what I saw was just normal merchandise where it was just another discount store.

Now the one place that is apparently doing pretty well is Grocery Outlet. I remember when their headquarters was in the same building as a store in Berkeley, California, but then they closed that store and moved headquarters a few miles away in Emeryville (close to Pixar). But Grocery Outlet still has all sorts of oddball stuff including overstocks and items near their expiration dates.

 

[MillauFr]

People have learned that when you buy cheap junk you still have junk at the end of the day. People are gravitating towards more expensive quality made American manufactured products. Helps our economy and our manufacturing base.

 

[tvguy]

The last time I had a look at a Big Lots store, most of what I saw was just normal merchandise where it was just another discount store.

Now the one place that is apparently doing pretty well is Grocery Outlet. I remember when their headquarters was in the same building as a store in Berkeley, California, but then they closed that store and moved headquarters a few miles away in Emeryville (close to Pixar). But Grocery Outlet still has all sorts of oddball stuff including overstocks and items near their expiration dates.

The Grocery Outlet on Watt Avenue in Sacramento closed earlier this year. So at least that one wasn't doing well. I have one in Carmichael that is a bit closer. I'm just not in their demographic, as I expect a store to stock a few basic items regularly, not just outlet products. I went in looking for cheese. They had none. At the suggestion of a friend who is a fan, I went in just to browse. The only item they had was a tiny box of some off brand of Cherrios., I think it was 8 ounces. It was selling for more than a 12 ounce box of Great Value Cherrios at Walmart.

 

[RedAngie]

The one near me is the same. Heck, it might be the same one for all I know.

I didn't shop there often, so I can't speak to Big Lots, but the Dollar General closest to me is a pigsty. It's always dirty and everything is thrown everywhere, not a pleasant shopping experience. For things I can but there, I go to Family Dollar.

Those older Dollar Generals in strip shopping centers that have seen better days are usually crappy. I’ve found the newer stand-alone stores to be much nicer.

The closest Big Lots to me coincidentally closed for renovation just before covid hit and it’s much nicer than many others.

 

[bcla]

The Grocery Outlet on Watt Avenue in Sacramento closed earlier this year. So at least that one wasn't doing well. I have one in Carmichael that is a bit closer. I'm just not in their demographic, as I expect a store to stock a few basic items regularly, not just outlet products. I went in looking for cheese. They had none. At the suggestion of a friend who is a fan, I went in just to browse. The only item they had was a tiny box of some off brand of Cherrios., I think it was 8 ounces. It was selling for more than a 12 ounce box of Great Value Cherrios at Walmart.

They have a lot of stuff that isn't overstocks or closeouts. Especially produce, eggs, and a lot of standard frozen items like frozen vegetables. Maybe alcohol. It's a combination of items that will reliably be stocked as well as all those random closeouts.

Their cheese selection can be random, but it would be odd that they wouldn't have any cheese at all. However, many stores are franchised, so the franchisee might have a say in what items are stocked, but obviously working with corporate which likely does a lot of negotiations over buying closeout items.

However, I think the big loss (at least in California) is the demise of 99 Cents Only. Bigger than Dollar Tree stores, many items at different price points, and produce.

 

[tvguy]

They have a lot of stuff that isn't overstocks or closeouts. Especially produce, eggs, and a lot of standard frozen items like frozen vegetables. Maybe alcohol. It's a combination of items that will reliably be stocked as well as all those random closeouts.

Their cheese selection can be random, but it would be odd that they wouldn't have any cheese at all. However, many stores are franchised, so the franchisee might have a say in what items are stocked, but obviously working with corporate which likely does a lot of negotiations over buying closeout items.

However, I think the big loss (at least in California) is the demise of 99 Cents Only. Bigger than Dollar Tree stores, many items at different price points, and produce.

Yes, this Grocery Outlet is a franchise.

 

[DodgerGirl]

My mall had Big Lots move into a former TRU in 2019 and before that move where Big Lots used to be was next to a CVS Pharmacy and Big Lots didn't get a lot of business there because it was in the crime area of my city but my mom went to the new Big Lots in my mall and she found it a disappointment and they didn't have much of anything. But one store my mom and I like but I have found it really noisy and messy was DD's Discounts and we thought DD's Discounts was better than Big Lots and Factory 2U because you can get deals on famous brands such as Tommy Hilfiger Disney Donna Karan New York Hasbro Mattel almost any brand you name but the problem we had with DD's Discounts was the aisles were like a labyrinth or cave that had no exit because they were blocked by messes of clothing and toys on the floors and I can see why DD's Discounts has become huge in bargain closeout stores. But as long as discount stores such as Walmart and Target continue to be popular stores like DD's Discounts will replace the Big Lots type of bargain closeout stores

 

[flyingdumbo127]

I vaguely remember when Big Lots was a wonderfully unique store called Pick N Save. My beloved late grandpa loved browsing there. Dad and I today miss the 99 Cent Only Store which went out of business earlier this year and we both would love Kmart to come back. Good memories. Thanks everyone for sharing

 

[bcla]

I vaguely remember when Big Lots was a wonderfully unique store called Pick N Save. My beloved late grandpa loved browsing there. Dad and I today miss the 99 Cent Only Store which went out of business earlier this year and we both would love Kmart to come back. Good memories. Thanks everyone for sharing

Pic ‘N Save or Pick N Save? At least in California there was “Pic ‘N Save”, which eventually operated as “MacFrugals” for some time before going belly up. But before then, they were looking to expand and had to deal with a similar name in the expansion regions. Many former MacFrugals locations were taken over by Big Lots.

There was also a Pak N Save. It was more like Food4Less or FoodsCo (both currently owned by Kroger). Kind of a no frills supermarket with some warehouse store sized items owned by Safeway Stores. They still operate a few stores with the name, but it’s really more like any other Safeway store and likely just to maintain trademark protection.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Thanks, BCLA. Definitely in CA and you're right about Pic N Save. I didn't remember how it was spelled. We also had one Bargain Circus before the 99 Cent Only Store took over. Pre Covid, there were a couple QBargain stores and one Dollar K store, all smaller than 99 or Dollar Tree. Now we have a couple Dollar Kings and Dollar Trees. I look forward to going back to both God willing once I'm out and about again, feet issues. Happy bargain shopping to all