Discount grocery retail chain Aldi has purchased a small handful of Big Lots locations, reports note, making the grocer the latest value brand to capitalize on Big Lots’ forfeited leases.
According to bankruptcy records, companies like Burlington, Tractor Supply and Ollie’s Bargain Outlet have recently scooped up dozens of storefronts across the country — each left vacant in 2024 after Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
And while some Big Lots stores survived the cuts and are reopening under the new Variety Wholesalers Inc. ownership, other former spaces are being repurposed: Aldi has announced it will soon open stores in former Big Lots spaces in: Denham Springs, Louisiana; Taylor, Michigan; and Nacogdoches, Texas.
Earlier in February, Ollie’s Bargain Outlet announced it would buy 40 former Big Lots stores, and USA Today reported that Burlington Stores Inc. acquired 12 Big Lots locations in eight states. Tractor Supply also confirmed to USA TODAY in early May that it purchased 18 Big Lots leases in 15 states.
For Aldi, the Big Lots additions are part of an ambitious expansion plan, which includes establishing a bigger footprint in the western United States. Last month, the discount grocer unveiled its first two outposts in Las Vegas and stores were also recently added in Boynton Beach, Florida, and Thomaston, Georgia, as well as a third new store in Las Vegas.
And the grocer is growing here too. After launching its first Staten Island store in Greenridge Plaza this past September, the grocer has scheduled a June 26 grand opening date for its newly built New Dorp location.
