After announcing plans to close its remaining Johnson County stores, discount retailer Big Lots may not be leaving the area after all.
Amid bankruptcy proceedings, the Ohio-based retailer included its Shawnee lcation in a growing list of store closures nationwide.
As of right now, that store is set to close in February or sooner, but it may be impacted by a change in ownership allowing some Big Lots stores to remain open.
When recently reached by the Post, officials with the company’s corporate office confirmed that the company is working to determine which stores will stay open as part of the deal but couldn’t confirm which locations that will apply to.
As for now, a bright yellow-and-black sign that says “Closing” adorns the front of the Shawnee store facing Nieman Road.
Big Lots is at 7408 Nieman Rd.
- The store occupies a space at the Trailridge Shopping Center in Shawnee, near Pathlight Brewing and Dollar General.
- It has occupied that space for roughly 13 years.
- Big Lots there remains open for now from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.
The retailer is closing hundreds of stores
- Big Lots filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, resulting in the rollback of hundreds of stores across the country.
- However, USA Today reported at the end of December that the company had struck a deal with Boston-based asset liquidation firm Gordon Brothers Retail Partners to transfer ownership of hundreds of their stores.
- As a result, hundreds of Big Lots stores will reportedly stay open under the new ownership — though it’s unclear at this time whether the Shawnee store will be included in that deal.
Another Big Lots recently closed in Johnson County
- The discount retailer previously also had a store at the Town Square Shopping Center in Olathe.
- The company closed that store in November, after more than a decade in that space.
- That leaves the Shawnee store as the retailer’s last in Johnson County.
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