Ocean State Job Lot acquires 15 Big Lots leases; to open 22 new stores this year
A regional discount chain is the latest retailer to acquire the leases of former Big Lots locations.
Ocean State Job Lot, which operates 159 stores across the Northeast, has acquired 15 Big Lots locations in eight states following the chain’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The company plans to open up to 22 new stores this year, including the 15 former Big Lots locations and five to seven additional locations, and will enter two new states, Maryland and Delaware, to its footprint.
The new locations, which range from 27,188 to 43,021 sq.-ft., are slated to open by mid-summer 2025. They include:
- Somers Point, Barnegat, and Cape May, N.J.;
- Chester, Easton, and Elkton, Md.;
- Dover and Seaford, Del.;
- Harrisburg and Trexlertown, Pa.;
- Dansville and Liverpool, N.Y.;
- Webster, Mass.;
- Morrisville, Vt.; and
- Auburn, Maine.
[READ MORE: Ollie's acquires 40 more Big Lots leases; eyes 75 total openings in 2025]
Ocean State Job Lot says it will hire for up to 70 positions for each store, and added that current Big Lots associates will be offered positions.
“This is an exciting chapter for us,” said Marc Perlman, principal owner and CEO of Ocean State Job Lot. “Expanding into new markets has long been part of our strategic plan, but like everything else we do, it needs to be done with value in mind. We look forward to introducing our unique brand, friendly service, and extraordinary savings to customers in each of these new communities.”
The acquisition of the Big Lots stores continues Ocean State Job Lot's strategic repurposing of former retail sites. In 2024, the company opened stores in four former Christmas Tree Shops properties with a fifth and sixth slated to open in early 2025. Since 2019, OSJL has converted 12 former Toys “R”Us stores.
Founded in 1977, Rhode Island-based Ocean State Job Lot offers shoppers a rotating array of household goods, apparel, pet supplies, seasonal products, kitchen pantry staples, and gourmet and international specialty foods.
