Mystery retailer’s loss is Big Lots’ gain    

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 8/10/2007 11:43:00 AM

Columbus, Ohio -- National closeout retailer Big Lots recorded 2Q sales of $1.08 billion and posted a quite respectable 5.2% same-store sales gain.

Comps, the retailer said were “positively impacted by a large closeout deal from a major home furnishings retailer, which the company estimates increased comparable store sales by approximately 2%.”

The 1,369-store Big Lots offered a single clue to the mystery retailer’s identity, noting, “On a regional basis, sales results were strongest in the Northeast and Southern regions with the Western region trailing the company average as it had the fewest stores benefiting from the home furnishings deal noted above.”