LIBERTY Big Lots stores will consolidate

The new store will occupy space left vacant two years ago when a large grocery store relocated.
THE VINDICATOR
By CYNTHIA VINARSKY
VINDICATOR BUSINESS WRITER
LIBERTY -- Big Lots is closing its general merchandise and furniture stores in the Liberty Plaza and consolidating them into a single new store in another Belmont Avenue shopping plaza.
The new, 40,000-square-foot Big Lots is set to open April 10 at 3495 Belmont in Belmont Plaza. The general merchandise and furniture store will occupy about two-thirds of the space vacated when Giant Eagle closed its grocery store there and moved into a new building a few miles north on Belmont.
Big Lots will close its two stores in the Liberty Plaza in early April, the company said, and employees will be transferred to the new store.
Alan Friedkin, who manages the Belmont Plaza for a Chicago investment group that owns it, said he's been promoting the Liberty Township commercial district as an ideal retail location and is pleased about the Big Lots move.
"I see it as an accomplishment," he said. "It's hard to get people to get away from thinking Boardman or Niles, but we've got a lot of population living in this area and 34,000 cars going up and down Belmont Avenue every day."
Renovation: He said the plaza owners paid for a floor-to-ceiling interior renovation to accommodate the new Big Lots store, and exterior improvements were completed last year.
US Factory Outlets, a general merchandise discount store, moved into a 40,000-square-foot space in the plaza about a year ago, and Friedkin said he's negotiating with another potential tenant for a 20,000-square-foot space.
Keri Lucas, a Big Lots spokeswoman, said the Columbus-based closeout retailer is opening more combination stores and adding furniture to its stores whenever possible.
Furniture sales is the fastest-growing segment of its business, she said, and officials believe consolidating the two retail segments is the best way to build its brand recognition.
About 500 of the chain's stores nationwide have furniture departments, and the company also operates 69 freestanding Big Lots Furniture stores. About 70 percent of the furniture the company carries is made in the United States, according to a company news release.
About the store: Big Lots specializes in closeout merchandise it acquires from manufacturers and sells for 20 percent to 40 percent less than most discount stores and 70 percent below conventional retailers.
Closeout items include products that are being discontinued, those that were produced for a trial or test market, overstock items and brands that are making a package change.
Big Lots Inc. has annual revenues exceeding $3 billion. It operates more than 1,300 retail stores in 46 states and has four regional distribution centers around the country. Its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BLI and is ranked among the Fortune 500.
vinarsky@vindy.com