It was revealed yesterday that Big Lots will be opening a new store — along with a relocated Grandview Mercantile — at the former Giant Eagle location at 1451 West Fifth Avenue near Grandview Heights. Today, Big Lots revealed that what they have in mind is actually something much different from their average store.
“This will be a new store format that our executive team has been working on for nearly a year with the assistance of outside consultants,” explained Andy Regrut, VP of Investor Relations. “We’re calling it our ‘Store of the Future.'”
What that means for customers is a larger store footprint with more room to showcase the most important types of merchandise that customers are looking for — home furniture and furnishings, seasonal items like patio furniture and Christmas decor, and soft home accessories.
“We’re focused around trying to resonate more with our core customer,” added Regrut. “We’ve been working to understand how to make an emotional connection with them… and incorporating that into how we’re thinking about the future of this company.”
When the new store on Fifth Avenue opens in October, it will be one of the most centrally located stores for the Central Ohio market. Regrut said that the new store format is being test piloted in Columbus along with another city that has yet to be announced, and other Central Ohio locations will see remodeling in the near future to reflect these changes.
“This is the next chapter in our book,” he stated.
For more information, visit www.biglots.com.