These retailers are coming to former Large Tons shops in Mass.

Business

Ocean State Job Lot will open in two, with plans for expansion across the Northeast.

New tenants are taking over former Big Lots locations across New England as they transition ownership following the company’s bankruptcy last year, with many of them converting into Ocean State Job Lot. 

Curtis Corl, Chief Marketing Officer for Ocean State Job Lot, said that the discount retail chain is acquiring 17 Big Lots locations across eight states. The company plans to open 22 new stores this year. 

The Big Lots locations slated to open by early summer 2025 in New England include:

• Webster and Auburn in Massachusetts 
• Morrisville, Vermont
• Auburn, Maine 

Store size ranges from 27,188 to 43,021 square feet and will offer Ocean State Job Lot’s “signature bigger, brighter shopping experience,” Corl said in a statement. 

The acquisition of the Big Lots stores continues Ocean State Job Lot’s strategic plan of repurposing former retail sites. 

Since 2024, Corl said, the company has opened stores in six former Christmas Tree Shops properties. Since 2019, the company has converted 12 former Toys R Us stores into Job Lot locations. 

Patriot News also reported that Burlington (formerly Burlington Coat Factory) is taking over the Big Lots location in Revere, and that Ollie’s Bargain Outlet is replacing the Big Lots in Fitchburg and Pittsfield. 

Neither company immediately returned a request for comment to confirm. 

Discount Chain Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year, closing some of its store locations and even holding going-out-of-business sales. 

At the beginning of the year, Gordon Brothers Retail Partners, a Boston-based firm specializing in distressed companies, bought Big Lots. Gordon Brothers is in the process of transferring Big Lots’ stores, distribution centers, and intellectual property to other retailers. 

As part of the sale, Variety Wholesalers acquired approximately 200 stores that operate under the Big Lots brand name and retained the existing employees to ensure continued operations. Variety Wholesalers stores are primarily in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. 

“We are thrilled to have reached this agreement and continue on our path forward that allows Big Lots to preserve its legacy and continue to serve customers,” said Lisa Seigies, President and Chief Executive Officer of Variety Wholesalers, in a statement. 

Beth Treffeisen is a general assignment reporter for Boston.com, focusing on local news, crime, and business in the New England region.