Big Lots is Getting Out of the Wholesale Business

Broadline closeout retailer Big Lots, which operates 1,527 stores in the U.S., announced that it's shutting down its wholesale operations, which have operated under the names Consolidated International and Wisconsin Toy for 34 years. It was a business that on the surface made a lot of sense: As the wholesale operation's website says, "Big Lots has the power to negotiate the best deals in the business." But operations will cease by the end of the fiscal year, and the company says it's working on liquidating inventory and assimilating it into retail stores in the next 90 days.