Ollie’s Takes Over Former Big Lots Locations in Michigan

Great news for bargain hunters. One of Michigan's shuttered Big Lots locations is getting a new name, but it will still be your home for factory seconds, discontinued packaging, and overstock deals.

RELATED: Big Lots 'Reopening' 5 Stores in Michigan

To say that 2024 and even 2025, to an extent, have been rough for brick-and-mortar businesses would be an understatement. Retailers have been forced to close stores or shutter operations entirely. Rite Aid completely abandoned Michigan in 2024, closing every store and leaving a lot of corner real estate available in 186 different locations.

Big Lots Bankruptcy Leaves Retail Gaps in Michigan

In Michigan, we lost every Big Lots location to bankruptcy, though some locations are making a comeback (see the RELATED link above), while others are getting a completely new life under new ownership.

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Business Wire reports that Variety Wholesalers purchased 219 former Big Lots locations, while 40 others were purchased by a name that makes bargain hunters perk up like a dog hearing a cheese wrapper crinkle: Ollies Bargain Outlet.

Ollie’s Moves Into Ironwood and Big Rapids

USA Today reports that Ollies is opening 25 new locations around the country, many in former Big Lots stores, including two in Michigan that have been operating for a few months. Those lucky cities?

• Ironwood, Michigan
  • 100 North Lowell Street
• Big Rapids
  • 750 Perry Avenue

Could More Ollie’s Locations Open in Michigan?

This isn't the first time Ollies has repurposed a bankrupt company's building and made it their own. Jackson, Michigan's former Party City location on West Avenue was converted earlier this year. Fingers crossed things go well for Ollies and they continue to expand in Michigan; we've got a few empty Rite Aids they may be interested in (you better get them before Spirit Halloween moves in).