Big Lots in Colonie closing its doors

[Retail Regents]

The next retailer to get the boot in Colonie is the Big Lots on Central Ave.

https://www.news10.com/news/albany-county/big-lots-in-colonie-closing-its-doors/

[BillyGr]

Not really saying why, in particular, they are closing the store. 

The one in East Greenbush a few years back was a forced issue, as the landlord wanted to upgrade the building after the state had redone the Kmart side, but no mention of such an issue here.

Some on various posts also suggested that theft was involved, but that seems hard to believe since they still have the store in Troy which is staying around - if one of the two had that issue, it would be more likely to occur in Troy over where this is in Colonie, or at least that would be the more logical explanation.

Of course, they also closed one in Hudson in the last year as well, so maybe just overall sales not doing well at a couple locations (since the company has issues as a whole, they might be more likely to cut stores that do poorly more quickly).

[Retail Regents]

Not really saying why, in particular, they are closing the store. 

The one in East Greenbush a few years back was a forced issue, as the landlord wanted to upgrade the building after the state had redone the Kmart side, but no mention of such an issue here.

Some on various posts also suggested that theft was involved, but that seems hard to believe since they still have the store in Troy which is staying around - if one of the two had that issue, it would be more likely to occur in Troy over where this is in Colonie, or at least that would be the more logical explanation.

Of course, they also closed one in Hudson in the last year as well, so maybe just overall sales not doing well at a couple locations (since the company has issues as a whole, they might be more likely to cut stores that do poorly more quickly).

Not to mention these stores are older and smaller, and given their penchant to upgrade to the SotF (Store of the Future) design philosophy, I imagine these stores are not suited for such an upgrade. I might be checking in with the Amsterdam store and see if anything has changed there.

[TheFugitive]

Not to mention these stores are older and smaller, and given their penchant to upgrade to the SotF (Store of the Future) design philosophy, I imagine these stores are not suited for such an upgrade. I might be checking in with the Amsterdam store and see if anything has changed there.

That sounds like a reasonable observation.  The Big Lots stores in my area have all been dramatically remodeled over the past couple of years, with the vast majority of floor space now being devoted to furniture.  I haven't been to this Colonie location but I am assuming the floor plan perhaps does not lend itself well to that.

Also playing a role I'm sure is that New York State ranks near the bottom in any national survey on business climate.  If a store's profitability is on the bubble and it's in a location where taxes or regulation are a decisive factor they may opt to close it and put their resources elsewhere.

[Retail Regents]

Not to mention these stores are older and smaller, and given their penchant to upgrade to the SotF (Store of the Future) design philosophy, I imagine these stores are not suited for such an upgrade. I might be checking in with the Amsterdam store and see if anything has changed there.

I haven't been to this Colonie location but I am assuming the floor plan perhaps does not lend itself well to that.

Ironically enough, the one in East Rochester has a similar floorplan to Colonie and Amsterdam's (both with the furniture department giving the salesfloor an L-shape), and yet that store got upgraded a few years back. Most likely the reason for closure is poor overall sales, something that most other retailers are having problems with.

[TheFugitive]

Another possibility is that they and their landlord aren't seeing eye-to-eye on the rent.  We have a shopping plaza here, Great Southern Shopping Center, which has quite a few vacancies.  A restaurant owner we know who moved out of there to a new location told us it was because the owner of that plaza was so difficult to deal with and inflexible on rent and terms.  By contrast another shopping center just down the hill is 99% occupied.

[Retail Regents]

My guess is Big Lots is the difficult one in the situation; the rest of the shopping center is mostly filled, with Price Chopper, Dollar Tree, and Retro Fitness, and there's no news about any of them closing.