Big Lots is owned by Variety Wholesalers, Inc., a privately held discount retailer based in North Carolina. Variety Wholesalers acquired the stores, distribution centers, and Big Lots brand name in early 2025 through a going-concern sale facilitated by Gordon Brothers, after the original company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy and a failed sale to private equity firm Nexus Capital Management. Roughly 200 locations continue to operate under the Big Lots name.
How Variety Wholesalers Ended Up With Big Lots
Big Lots, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 9, 2024, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.1Kroll Restructuring Administration. Former BL Stores, Inc. The New York Stock Exchange delisted the company’s common stock effective September 23, 2024, ending public trading of BIG shares.
The initial plan was a sale to Nexus Capital Management, which had signed a stalking horse agreement worth roughly $620 million. That deal never closed. Reports indicated an inventory valuation came in lower than expected, and by December 2024 Big Lots had launched going-out-of-business sales at its remaining roughly 900 stores, with warnings that all locations could close.
Gordon Brothers, a global advisory and restructuring firm, then purchased the assets and transferred the stores, distribution centers, and intellectual property — including the Big Lots brand — to Variety Wholesalers.2Gordon Brothers. Gordon Brothers Completes Big Lots Purchase and Facilitates Going Concern Sale The deal closed in January 2025.
Who Variety Wholesalers Is
Variety Wholesalers is a private company. It already operated more than 400 stores under brands including Roses Discount Stores, Roses Express, and Maxway before adding Big Lots to its portfolio of value-oriented retail concepts.
Because Variety Wholesalers is privately held, its ownership is not subject to SEC disclosure rules, and its financial results are not made public. That’s a significant change from the old Big Lots, which traded on the NYSE under the ticker BIG and filed annual 10-K and quarterly 10-Q reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission.3U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Exchange Act Reporting and Registration Under the previous structure, institutional investors collectively held most of the stock, with the top 13 shareholders controlling roughly 51% of outstanding shares and no single entity holding a majority stake. None of that applies now. There is no public stock in Big Lots to buy.
What the Current Big Lots Looks Like
At its peak, Big Lots operated more than 1,400 stores. Variety Wholesalers acquired at least 200 of them, meaning the vast majority of former Big Lots locations closed permanently during the bankruptcy.2Gordon Brothers. Gordon Brothers Completes Big Lots Purchase and Facilitates Going Concern Sale By May 2025, Variety Wholesalers had relaunched over 130 locations across 14 states, primarily in the Southeast and Midwest where the parent company already had an operational footprint. Employees at the acquired locations were retained.
The company has signaled plans to reopen additional stores in phases. Whether the brand grows back toward its former scale depends on Variety Wholesalers’ strategy and financial capacity.
What Happened to the Old Big Lots Shareholders
If you’re asking about ownership because you held BIG stock, the answer is that those shares are worthless. Shareholders in the original Big Lots, Inc. lost their investment entirely. In bankruptcy, common equity sits at the bottom of the priority ladder, behind secured creditors, unsecured creditors, and administrative expenses. There was not enough value in the estate to reach equity holders.
The original corporate entity was renamed “Former BL Stores, Inc.” in October 2025. On November 10, 2025, the bankruptcy court converted the case from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7, and Alfred T. Giuliano was appointed as the Chapter 7 trustee to oversee the wind-down of any remaining assets.1Kroll Restructuring Administration. Former BL Stores, Inc. A conversion to Chapter 7 means full liquidation, with no path back to operating as a going concern. The company itself acknowledged that shareholders were unlikely to recover anything.
The Big Lots operating today is a separate story from the corporation that once issued BIG stock. The brand and stores now belong to Variety Wholesalers; the old public company is being wound down under a different name in a different courtroom.