Big Lots, Inc. · Columbus, OH United States ·(NYSE: BIG)

Big Lots believes that a product's shelf life depends solely on which shelf it's on. The company is the nation's #1 broadline closeout retailer, with some 1,340 Big Lots stores (down from a high of 1,500 in 2005) in 47 states. (More than one-third of its stores are located in California, Florida, Ohio, and Texas.) It sells a variety of brand-name products that have been overproduced, returned, discontinued, or result from liquidations, typically at 20% to 40% below discounters' prices, as well as private-label items and furniture. Its wholesale division, Big Lots Wholesale, sells its discounted merchandise to a variety of retailers, manufacturers, distributors, and other wholesalers. To read the full description, subscribe now.