With the closure of Big Lots and Dollar Tree in 2025—two of the biggest shutdowns in recent memory—the retail industry is experiencing yet another catastrophe. Due to poor performance, growing expenses, and strategic errors, both chains are planning to close more than 1,500 locations.
Due to severe losses, Dollar Tree is closing more than 1,000 locations.
Following a startling $1.7 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2024 alone, Dollar Tree, one of the largest discount retailers in the United States, has announced that 1,000 of its shops will be closing over the next few years.
30 Dollar Tree stores and 370 Family Dollar outlets are being closed immediately.
Phase-out gradually: As leases expire, more stores will close.
Nearly ten years have passed since Dollar Tree’s $8 billion acquisition of Family Dollar, which has turned out to be more of a burden than a benefit, and the Big Lots and Dollar Tree closure wave of 2025. According to experts, Dollar Tree had trouble integrating Family Dollar, which resulted in low profitability and ineffective operations.
The decision, according to retail expert Neil Saunders, is the last straw in an acquisition that has cost Dollar Tree “nothing but hassle” since it was completed in 2015.
600 Family Dollar locations have already been closed by the chain in 2024, and the most recent round of closures portends more issues for the low-cost retail industry.
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Big Lots is planning to close hundreds of stores and faces bankruptcy
Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 2024, which led to widespread closures across its almost 900 stores, compounding the crises of the Dollar Tree and Big Lots closures in 2025.
- 545 stores are scheduled to close.
- As the business restructures, more closures can occur.
Big Lots’ bankruptcy process is presently being managed by asset liquidation company Gordon Brothers Retail Partners. A lifeline for a few stores has been provided by Variety Wholesalers, which has intervened to purchase about 200 Big Lots locations.
Notwithstanding these initiatives, there is still a growing amount of uncertainty about the closing of Big Lots and Dollar Tree in 2025, with other stores perhaps facing closure.
The CEO of Big Lots Talks
Bruce Thorn, CEO of Big Lots, responded to the closures by saying:
“Though the majority of our store locations are profitable, we intend to move forward with a more focused footprint to ensure that we operate efficiently and are best positioned to serve our customers.”
According to experts, Big Lots is going back to its “extreme bargain” beginnings by closing underperforming stores and concentrating on a more profitable, leaner business model.
Retail Crisis: By 2030, 45,000 Stores Are Anticipated to Close
The 2025 wave of Big Lots and Dollar Tree closures is only a portion of a much wider retail downturn.
UBS estimates that throughout the next five years, up to 45,000 physical stores may disappear. The following industries are the most at risk:
- Retailers of clothing
- Retailers of consumer electronics
- Sports equipment and hobby stores
- Music stores and bookshops
- Chains of home furnishings
In the meanwhile, it is anticipated that more powerful retail brands such as Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, and Target would prosper.
The 2025 closings of Big Lots and Dollar Tree are indicative of the larger difficulties that physical businesses face in a time of growing expenses, changing consumer preferences, and fierce competition from internet behemoths.
What Will Happen to Shoppers Next?
Millions of Americans will have to change their shopping patterns as bargain stores disappear from their communities due to the Big Lots and Dollar Tree shutdown plans for 2025.
More closures anticipated: It’s possible that more Big Lots and Family Dollar stores will close than first thought.
Changes in discount retail: In order to stay competitive, stores that stay open will probably turn their attention back to offering incredible deals.
Increased rivalry between Dollar General, Aldi, and Walmart: Larger chains will fill the void left by struggling smaller stores by drawing in budget-conscious customers.
For the time being, the closing of Big Lots and Dollar Tree in 2025 represents a hard truth for the retail sector: only the most resilient and resilient companies will endure.
