Discount store coming to 3 former NJ Big Lots

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Discount retail chain Ocean State Job Lot is taking over 15 former Big Lots stores along the East Coast, including three in New Jersey.

In a March 19 press release, the company said it will acquire the locations in Barnegat, Cape May and Somers Point. The 12 other former Big Lots stores are in Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland, according to Ocean State Job Lot.

The stores range in size from 27,188 square feet to 43,021 square feet. Ocean State Job Lots expects the locations to open by mid-summer 2025. The company says it plans to hire for up to 70 positions at each site, including leadership, supervisory, full-time, part-time and seasonal.

In addition to repurposing vacant stores, Ocean State Job Lot intends to open another five to seven new locations this year. The growth will bring the brand to Maryland and Delaware for the first time, the company said.

Marc Perlman, principal owner and CEO of Ocean State Job Lot, commented, “This is an exciting chapter for us. 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.”

Founded in 1977, Rhode Island-based Ocean State Job Lot sells an ever-changing array of brand-name, first-quality merchandise at closeout prices. Its products include:

• Household goods,
• Apparel,
• Pet supplies,
• Seasonal products,
• Kitchen pantry staples, and
• Specialty foods.

Considered the Northeast’s largest, privately held discount retailer, Ocean State Job Lot has 159 stores, employs 5,600 associates and generates annual sales exceeding $850 million, the company said.

A ‘Big’ loss

Within New Jersey, Ocean State Job Lot has stores in Clinton, Freehold, Holmdel, Deptford, Franklin Park, South Plainfield and Sparta.

The company has previously transformed other stores left empty by struggling retailers. For instance, its Freehold location was once a Toys R Us, and its Holmdel outpost formerly housed Stein Mart.

Big Lots filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2024. After, the deep discount retailer was ultimately sold to Gordon Brothers Retail Partners, a buyer specializing in distressed companies.

As part of the deal, Gordon Brothers is facilitating the transfer of Big Lots’ brand, stores and distribution centers to other retailers.

In its bankruptcy petition, Big Lots attributed a pullback in consumer spending on furniture, home décor and seasonal products to inflation and high interest rates.

Since last fall, Big Lots’ footprint in New Jersey has gone from two dozen to zero.

Even ahead of its Chapter 11 filing, the company began closing hundreds of its 1,400 stores nationwide and auctioning off leases. 

In January, Gordon Brothers posted 13 stores in New Jersey that were set to close if not leased:

• Beverly
• Brick
• Cape May Court House
• Clifton, Dover
• Hamilton
• Lumberton
• Middletown
• Millville
• Sicklerville
• South Plainfield
• Toms River
• West Deptford

Nationally, the chain has four stores left – California, Idaho, Oklahoma and Tennessee.