When i was a poor kid growing up, you didn't want to be caught dead in a Big Lots.. Now as an adult, i realize that the person that saw you there was also shopping at Big Lots.
The Godfather my mom went to all of those stores and didn’t care who thought what! We always ate good and had a bunch of toys of all types...from cheep transformer knock offs to name brand video games. I still shop at all the discount stores and fondly remember getting a j I joe out of the pic and save on Manchester and Crenshaw that is now a Big Lots...lol...I never knew why it’s name changed but what it sold didn’t 💁🏾♂️
Hey man whatever makes your dollar go the farthest. Your mom was just trying to do what she could for your family I'm sure. I totally hear you though. Big lots didn't exist when I was a kid but we had similar discount stores we went to in the 80's.
I noticed that many has closed out too. The stuff they sell can easily be bought online and shopping there is a hit or miss since they may not carry what you are looking for.
Well over the last 5 years their stock price has half'd and their market cap (on the NYSE) is now under 800m (big drop for them, they were a multi billion $ company before). Seems their assets are growing though. Revenue is essentially stagnant with growth not even worth mentioning, but their net income is up. 2019 was a really good year for them looking back now. Not a company I would expect any meaningful growth from but they have been relatively stable and they don't look like they're in any terrible financial troubles so they'll probably be around for some time to come.
I worked for BigLots for 2 years when I was a teenager, I unloaded trucks and stocked shelves. The trucks were always full of random stuff from other retailers, it was kinda fun to see all the stuff and they treated their employees very well, or at least they did at the one I worked for.
I currently work at Big Lots and I do exactly that. In addition, I'm a furniture associate. My SM can be annoying but he treat the workers decent and the people I work with are pretty sociable
I worked there as a teenager in the 90's. I stocked shelves too and it was fun. I'll never forget the time the boss came up to me and and said "Do something with the toy section." I asked him what and he said "Whatever you want. Rearrange it to look better, your call." That was a cool work day.
I quit there after working for two years because the SotF remodel was not panning out. I was mainly furniture sales. Made them about 50k a month and only got 20 hours a week. They even sent me to other stores to help out, but in the end I left cause if the horrible management. Now I work for an actual furniture company doing sales and make commission and pull about $4 more per hour than what my FSL is currently making.
I really like big lots. It's got really cool stuff for very cheap. I always had a great time going there as a kid to see what sort of neat old lego sets they had. Side note, one of my uncles works there.
As someone who works at a Big Lots currently and literally started binge watching your videos an hour ago, this was a pleasant surprise. Not gonna lie, my experience at my Big Lots has been nothing but great. Hours have been good to me(for part-time) and pay has been decent too. Great video Company Man!
I work at Big Lots. 2015 to the present day. The hours are 4am until 10am and that is unloading the truck on Monday's and stocking products the rest of the week. I really enjoy it actually and the early hours enable you to still have a life when you are done with your shift. It's only 30 hours but you will get the same amount if you work at for example Wal-Mart or Target but that consumes your whole day. When your 6 hours are up it's only 10am so you have the whole day to do whatever you want. I'm pointing this out for anyone who wants a change to their working life for the better, I would recommend Big Lots. Thank You Company Man for the great video.
@@maximiIiaan it's usually around $11 or $12 after a year of working at minimum wage. I live in Oregon and the minimum wage is $10.75 so i maxed out at $12.
@@maximiIiaan my understanding is the company hires at a base of $9.50/hr but obviously it depends on the state and your experience. So you might get paid more.
My local Big Lots really stepped up their game in the last year. They moved into an old Kmart space and refinished the entire inside. It used to be dark and gloomy in the old one. Now it's bright and welcoming. Being a member, they email me daily, sometimes twice per day, where years ago you only heard from them when they had a 20% off sale. There's been a lot of competition closures in the past couple of years and I think they're stepping up to fill the void.
Gary Oak Well i didn’t really understand the „happiness“ about the spam-mails either, but it made the point clear about them taking the whole thing more serious, but wtf? Who wouldnt be happy, as a customer, „member“ or as a worker there when they renovate? I personally wouldn‘t want anything else than a better shopping experience if the prices stay the same
I go to Ollie's they always have good deals over there on various automotive bits and baubles... Really dumb of Big Lots to kind of move away from this
I went to a job interview at my local Big Lots when I was young wearing a shirt that had a picture of a toaster on it and it said "get toasted" below it. Never got that call back for some reason....Awesome shirt though.
I work at what they call a “Store of the future” and it’s actually really nice in there. We got good management and our store has been doing pretty good.
D B SOTFs are very visibly appealing. It makes the store feel more inviting and organized. The lighting is good too. The company is going in the right direction with SOTFs. You will like how it looks. Only complaint is the register counter and four ways are black, and the scratches really show (dust is very noticeable too but we keep them clean). Hope you like how it comes out! More customers will definitely come in.
This video made my heart so full thinking of all the fond memories of afternoons spent shopping at Mac Frugal's with my grandma. She's been gone for almost 15 years but I would do anything to shop those cluttered aisles, with poorly kept tile, one more time.
I've been working @ Big Lots for 4 years now part time. I love it there, I have a profession but I've kept Big Lots on the side the whole time. No reason to quit. They've been good to me.
@@ufc_fan Lol thanks. Not enough work life balance as a manager there. I love my flexibility, it definitely serves its purpose just going in 12-13 hours a week.
Kb was my favorite toy store when I was a kid. God just the mention of it brings me to my early 90s childhood. My mom used to just leave me there while she shopped at the Mervyn’s next door. What a wonderful memory
I have worked for Big Lots for about seven years and going on four years as a furniture manager. It's a great place to work for and just last year they raised their minimum wage to $9.50 an hour per part time associate and $12 an hour for managers. I love my job and we carry a lot of name brands in furniture as in Ashley, Simmons, Lane, Serta,etc. Great video overall.
I work part time in furniture. Great job to keep me busy when my other endeavors slow down in the winter. I'll work one or two days a week during the summer, and will work emergency situations and F&F when I'm available. The flexibility, and fantastic management has kept me around. I genuinely enjoy the job. I'm loving the new standardized layout with "The Store of the future" concept. It's nice being able to walk into any of the stores that have gone through the renovation knowing exactly where everything is.
This is their friends and family sale. It's done once a quarter. It's awesome because there are almost no restrictions. Everything in the store is 20% off regular everyday prices.
Big Lots has become a bit more like a mix between the grocery section of a CVS mixed with the housewares department of a Walmart. Ollie's is like Big Lots used to be
Please do the rise and fall of the Chongryon, a North Korean group in Japan that once owned tons of businesses like Pachinko casinos to help fund the North Korean government. One of the most successful groups in Japan until it was caught red handed by the Japanese government and ordered them to repay billions of yen to the debt-collection body. Leading to their bankruptcy. They still have a presence in the country but it's not as a big as it once was. And now, they're targeted more than ever before.
I’m a total sucker for those deeply discounted DVDs, man. I have a collection of several hundred, and I think on average I’ve paid like maybe $7 per title
I used to do the same thing at my local pawn shop. I used to buy random CDs and DVDs for 2bucks. Some great finds were Megadeth Youthanasia and Dog Soldiers. The year Iron Man 3 came out, I watched it from the comfort of my home before it was even in theatres thanks to a Chinese bootleg. I will never buy a physical movie media again. Thanks internet people! Keep seeding
Seeing Buc-ee's approx. 300 fuel pumps for the first time is baffling, but going inside to look around is a life changing experience. What is more amazing is that it is not at all a truck stop. Forget Dairy Queen or HEB, Buc-ee's is a must visit destination in Texas. They do need a location on I-40 though.
One of the more interesting things is that they won’t allow 18-wheelers or even tractors without trailers. Besides saving real estate, it makes them feel more like a premium and friendly place to stop versus a grungy truck stop.
My mom and I shop at Biglots so much! We aren't poor or anything, and I honestly really enjoy discount/clearance stores because not only are they cheap, but you can often actually find pretty interesting and very good quality products there that you wouldn't always find at more commercial retail chains. Tuesday Morning is another such store that we often visit and we love it.
I remember when my Mac Frugals became a Big Lots. Mac Frugals was a weird store... it was more like a big open warehouse with large cardboard tubs full of random stuff.They pretty much just pulled this stuff off the truck and put it on the warehouse floor for customers to sort through. You might find a tub full of bathmats and toasters together.
I love biglots, I was getting super cheap drinks for $1 that normally are $2.69. I would fill up a cart and spend $70. Not everything was cheap but definitely little lower prices. Walmart only has them beat with selection, everything else about Walmart blows. Long live Big Lots!
I bought all of my furniture at Big Lots. I bought my couch there nearly three years ago, and I just saw the same couch there this past week! I love Big Lots!
The stores do look nice, and some of the products you would find useful are poor quality, but you do find that unique item like those pickled beets from poland.
They're best for furniture and holiday decorations. It really matches their business model and these are items that you typically are no looking for a specific brand name for. Yet it's still very good quality.
I personally love big lots. It's not like I am financially reliant on it but it is a very nice place to buy chips and candy and other foods that are bit on the expensive side at the local supermarket
@@jackie6828 Yep! The only ACTUAL "Dollar Store" near me is "Dollar Tree" ($1 or less on every item.) Dollar General and Family Dollar are inflation adjusted versions of what used to be called "5 & 10" stores. (Deep discount, but more than $1).
Ross, TJX, etc. focus on clothing and decor. While the original purchasing plan was the same Big Lots expanded it to encompass all of the items found in what we used to call a five-and-dime., adding furniture in some stores in the 1990s.
Yea same plan and idea but they focus more on clothing and home decor where big lots deals with home furnishings beds home decor and appliances also food and toys also
I feel like this should be the rise and fall and rise and fall again of Big Lots. They seemed to be doing well and rather attractive in the late 2000s/early 2010s, but now a lot of them are looking more and more run down and some are even closing down. They've seem to be in a decline since 2017 or so.
Big Lots used to have some great deals and I went there quite often. But recently I leave without buying anything as I can find compritable Items cheaper elsewhere.
I discovered your channel early last year and I must say, I'm glad for it. Normally have little interest in economics, but your videos are really engaging and make it interesting to the point that I was surprised. Keep up the good work! Also, the shelves of Progresso during a sentence that uses the word "progression" is top tier use of B roll. 😂
Funny thing is, nothing they sell is really trashy. they sell really good hummus great healthy snack foods, ( really quite awesome mixed vegetable chips and other things!) have good prices on drinks and have small items which one oft times overlooks when shopping department stores. Surprisingly pretty awesome if you like to DIY Thai foods as they sell coconut milk coconut oil for frying and aloe drink there. I pop in from time to time when I am around just because it's as convenient as any walmart or gas station but what you can get there is often of surprisingly good quality and quirky/cool.
Big lots is awesome. I forget about it but when ever I do go in, I can find the best stuff for amazing deals. I hope they stick around for many more years ☺
Grew up going to a Big Lots! regularly, which my parents *still* refer to as MacFrugal's (we're from Miami). Now I'm in New England and there's a place that is exactly like it called Ocean State Job Lot. In fact, I was so curious I read their wikipedia page after going there because I was trying to figure out if Big Lots owned them, but they don't. I did however learn a bunch of the stuff you mentioned in this video via that wikipedia rabbit hole. Great video.
Half the time when I ask customers for their ocean state card, they give me a big lots one... I don't think most people even realize there's a difference
Ocean State Job Lot used to be called East Coast Marketplace and they were big in New England for many years before Big Lots(or Odd Lots as it was known then) came into the area.
I never been in a “Big Lots” store or knew anything about it. I was completely wrong in what I thought the store was. I had Home Depot in my head for some reason. I found the video very informative for someone who had no clue about this company ⭐️⭐️😊
I love Big Lots. It's not the kind of place you go to get something specific, but every time I walk in there, there are tons of things I find that would be useful and I'd like to have.
Dude, you need to do Ross Stores. Who also own DD's Discounts, and who at a time were connected to Mervyn's, pretty much the Kohl's of yester year. In fact, a Ross Stores and Mervyn's video would be fantastic. Also, do you remember Montgomery Ward?
10:10 I see what you did there... Talking about BigLots progression while rolling b-roll of progresso soup. I’m on to you company man, with all your subliminal messages. 😉
I work at store 0083 in lorain as a sales associate/ furniture associate i also help unload the trucks when they come in. I can tell you right now best decision even i work usually 20 hours a week sometimes 30 (once in a blue moon) but hey i got a good job not complaining. I cant tell you how it’s changed my life this is my first job and hopefully a job will have for a long time. (Edit earlier this year 2022 I was promoted to furniture sales specialist I work about 30 hours now sometimes 20 an occasional 39 but I can tell you right now there’s no other place I would be right now)
Big Lots seems to be going through tough times as of this writing, in fact the store closest to me is shutting down. Might want to consider a “The Decline of Big Lots” video sooner or later
I’ve worked for BigLots from August to December in 2018 and I was surprised about how successful it was. Employees getting paid $9.50/hr and was selling items for a low price and having “Big Sales” every so often.
I work at a big lots now and I don't know how things were in the past, but lately the working conditions have been slowly deteriorating. The minimum wage is about $12 dollars an hour and if you are a good employee then god help you because they will overwork you to death. Sometimes the company would get extremely carried away with furniture stock and would overload us to the point where we could barely move around in the stockroom. I even read somewhere that one guy was fired for trying to report a health code violation. During the covid pandemic is where they showed their true colors. First off our store was undergoing a renovation and we had to stay open and the store was incredibly busy making things extremely difficult and they didn't even bother to give us new registers or doing things like installing price scanners anywhere meaning we were essentially stuck with computers that were at least ten years old. The registers would sometimes crash and if you tried to remove the scanner from its charging stock at some of the registers it would just stop working. Second off during the covid pandemic the company cut all the employees pay and all the managers lost their bonuses even though we were insanely busy and making a lot in sales.
As someone who works here I can say he is exactly right about how we do inventory as someone who unloads the truck we usually have between 500 to 2000 pieces on the truck ranging from food pallets to furniture to knick nacks ect
Back in the '90's, they had a great selection of the crappiest tools ever manufactured, and they sold the tools for the lowest prices ever. This was great. You could buy specialty tools even though you would probably only use them 1 time (and that's about how long they would last). I guess Harbor Freight has built stores all over now to fill that void.
Their new "customer service standard" is borderline stalking and harassment. They stared my family down the whole time and no less than four people asked if we needed help. One rep even eavesdropped a conversation to my wife in order to make product suggestions. "Oh, you're making chili for dinner? Seasoning is that way." That is one creepy ass store!
my first job was at a Big Lots. It was a poorly run junk store back then, around 2002. I recently went into the store to shop and was surprised how well the store is doing now. Its clean and much better organized. When Walmart came to town in 2004 I thought it was doomed but they are still around and doing well. The adjustment to carry more staples works well, you still have to check in every once and a while to see the close out deals. Very good strategy by management there.
*I worked at Big lots starting in early 2018 for a little over one year.* I was paid around 50 cents more than minimum wage, keep on mind minimum wage was $12 per hour in the area of California I worked in, I am sure if you work in a state were minimum is low, that Biglots will start you off a higher base pay than minimum wage (whatever wage is competitive in your area). There is always stuff to do. My managers were great, super professional and reasonable. I didn't have to work truck. Truck sucks ass, I worked it a few times when I first started, the truck time varies by each location, ours was 4:00 am. Big Lots is a much more laid back environment than a Walmart or Target also the stores are much smaller so you will get to know everybody. The only issues I had with the company is that their is no way to go full time unless your a manager, which means in California I was capped out at 30 hours a week, that's the max for CA part time. Also there is no way to move up in the company from the base position, unless you have been their for many years, at least 5-10 for a lower end manger and 2-3 for a shift leader. They offer very little part time benefits the only useful benefit is 20-30% everything which is extremely high for this part or retail, their benefits for their full time Managers are some the best in all of retail. I ended up quiting after a little over a year and transfering to a different smaller discount retailer where the base pay was $1.25 more per hour and where I can actually work my way up in the company in a much quicker time frame. *My advice to anyone would be to try to get into the best first like Costco, Chick-fil-A, In&Out, Best Buy, they are have much better work environments and better pay, if that fails go work at Big Lots.*
I used to work at Big Lots as a manager. Their biggest opportunity is store operations. They significantly under staff their stores because they don't believe customers expect a high level of quality in regards to store conditions and service. But that attracts lower-level employees which in turn hurts productivity. They basically carry the same employee model than they do with their product. They take the leftovers. If they could be an employer of choice, still carry a high profit margin with their product, their business could explode to another level..
I'm about to ditch the roommates and get a apartment by myself. The problem though is I own no furniture besides my bedroom set, no dishes, no silverware, nothing. My plan is to go to the local big lots and sign up for their rewards card that gives you 15% your purchase the day you sign up and drop about 2 grand furnishing my apartment. If I were to go to a traditional furniture store it would cost me double that probably. The quality of the furniture might not be the best but I can always replace items one at a time later on after they start to fall apart.
I lived at this store when I was a college student and when I got my 1st apartment. Ah good memories. They really should market themselves to young adults.
The reason why big lots is successful is because they refuse to pay employees much more than minimum wage and sell dollar store products for $10+ Opened two big lots stores and worked for two years.
I grew up with Pick 'N Save and when they changed to Big Lots it was a shock. In fact, my dad started his first job at Pick N Save in the 70's. But now I know how it became Big Lots! Thanks Company Man.
Ollie's -- Good Stuff Cheap! Quick facts: started in the Harrisburg PA area, the current CEO Mark Butler started as a store clerk, and is now also principal owner of the Harrisburg Senators minor league baseball team (AA Affiliate of the Washington Nationals). Links to more info: www.pennlive.com/news/2017/08/ollies_bargain_outlet_inspirat.html www.pennlive.com/news/2017/08/ollies_bargain_outlet_is_boomi.html
I don't see the logic under operating under so many different names. I like how they unified all of their business under one name... it makes a lot of sense.
They actually bought interest or played a capital role in establishing the other chains, excepting MacFrugals which they bought outright and renamed within months.
The history of Big Lots (so renamed because of federal trademark issues) isn't complete without exploring the predecessor company Consolidated Sales Corp. [sic] which was a similar idea and was operating as early as 1937. Many, but not all, CSC stores are open and operating as Big Lots in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky today.
Great video. I'd never heard of Big Lots until I moved to the PNW. After moving without much furniture I got a great deal on a couch for my new place and used to buy snacks and other odds and ends there. Decent stuff for a good price. Interesting that they bought out Pic N Save...I remember those stores growing up and had always wondered what happened to them, and now I know!
We only have one Big Lots remaining near me which is surprising because I live in a decently large city. We had a second location but that closed in 2008 and is now home to Total Wine. But a few months ago it was announced that a new Big Lots would be moving into a vacant Safeway. I’ve never actually been into a Big Lots but it seems like a good place to score some deals
So you wrote a long paragraph to explain there was 2 big lots near you, then only 1, and there are to be 2 again. You could've saved a lot of time by saying you have 1, soon to be 2 big lots near you.
Jared Hicks I was just sharing my personal experience with the store, just like Company Man suggested us to do. But then you came along and wrote a smart ass comment that accomplished nothing. If your just gonna shit on my comment and not even partake in the discussions we’re having them I suggest you say nothing at all...
Last time I went few years back, a row of shelves collapsed on two lady employees setting up merchandise. I helped get them out before fire department arrived. Haven't been back since. Anyhow, most items sold are junk.
I work here and might I saw the change from a lot of general merchandise to NVOs has actually kinda made the store more cluttered and more of that “store you go to when you’re poor.” And depending on your store’s sales, way more stock than you can hold is sent to crowd up your stockroom. They also use a flawed rewards system and pretty much bases employees hours on how many people they get to sign up. It’s not an enjoyable experience to work here. But I digress, there actually is some good stuff here and it’s cheap. It’s great to get pantry staples as dates are constantly being rotated and you’ll know you have a good chunk of time. The furniture is also really nice too
Will you ever do a video on Albertsons, an Idaho-based grocery chain that has had a very interesting history? Up until Supervalu bought them out 12 years ago (also at the time, they sold off Sav-on Drugs and Osco Drug to greedy CVS), they had competitive prices with the Safeway (they rose up again after buying Safeway in 2014, a year after Supervalu spun them off) and Kroger related chains, and a strong reputation for quality, but they struggled after major acquisitions and expansions in the late 90's. In the past 15 years, Albertsons has has closed many stores and has abandoned once-stronghold areas like Denver (stores were closed gradually from 2006 to 2016, when the remaining Denver area stores were converted to Safeway), Utah (stores sold to independent operators in 2009), Florida ( most stores were sold to Publix in 2008 with the remaining Florida stores closing in 2016 and converting to Safeway), Northern California (stores were sold to NorCal grocery chain Save Mart in 2007), Oklahoma (stores sold to independent operators in 2007), and Omaha (stores sold to independent operators in 2004).
The Albertson's and Vons here in LV are now owned by the same company? (Their mailers have both names.) Also much higher prices than Smiths (Kroger) except their JFU app/online coupon items... Which is just about the only thing I go there for now.
I grew up going to Big Lots, so when I had the opportunity to intern for the company this past summer, I was hooked. The video does well explaining Big Lots’ new custom acquisition program and merchandising. Another reason for their success is improving the company culture and employee experience. From more involvement in corporate social responsibility to building a brand new headquarters (my first day of work was their second week in a state of the art building), Big Lots is set up for success in the coming years. Thank you for the video!
I remember, from a kid's perspective, they ruined KB toys. It all became very sterile and corporate. Akin to if your farmer's market suddenly only sold Coke and Frito Lay.
You should do a "Bigger Than You Know" for Land O Lakes. Butter is by far not their main source of revenue. Just listened to an interview with their new CEO on Kara Swisher's podcast Recode Decode. I recommend checking it out.
Man, Big Lots is really good in theory, the one I work at is kind of the worst case scenario with that. Yeah, we sell the stuff people wanna just get rid of, but some of the managers will put /anything/ on the shelves. I literally just got rid of some really nice-looking cranberry juice that none of the stockers noticed was out of date. And management doesnt really seem to care about that kind of stuff, nor their associates. Their bottom line isnt neccessarily "Sell Cheap Stuff At A Profit", it's "Spend As Little As Possible". I cant tell how many times people had to complain about bags, carts, heating, or the goddam stys that are the bathrooms, but nothing's changed in the yeat I've been there. They just put out four fans in the front during the summer and that's it. I guess it was a half-vent, half-perspective piece, but hey, my two cents. It's weird seeing the place you work at as the subject for a video, and I literally just got off the clock, so it's kind of surreal. Anyways, keep up the good work!
I suppose that the management team makes a huge difference. I started working for the company around 2 years ago as a part time winter job, and refuse to leave the place due to the wonderful experiences I've had there. Management, and coworkers have been fantastic, and we certainly keep an eye out for the things that you mentioned. Most pleasant job I've ever had, and that's high praise considering that I prefer to be self employed.
@@JakeWerkmeister Honestly yeah, and same sort of situation here. I hear the other stores in the region are still a lot better managerial-wise, but the one i work at is /still/ one of the top spots business-wise (somehow). Like, I like the work, but everything else is just dysfunction and penny-pinching.
@@cranktherider4302 see that's weird. Our numbers are very good in our region, but there's never really pressure from management to cut corners. We're only a few hours away from Columbus, so we get occasional visits by the high ups of the company. They've always been friendly as well, and don't have us tripping over frivolous nonsense. Some of the company execs are actually retired execs from other companies. Essentially, this is a "fun job" for them too.
Very interesting. My dad owned a small family shoe store (1963 to 1976 ... he had worked in a shoe stores since he was a teen) on Main St of our small town. Back then, all the stores closed Wednesday afternoon and Sunday (Thursday and Friday nights open till 9:00). On Wednesday, we (he let us skip school) take a trip (about 1 -2 hour drive) to two or three shoe factories. We would be met by the owner. Cash would be exchanged and we would put a few cartons of shoes into the station wagon (1967 Chevy) ... when was the last time you saw the owner of a large factory loading cartons. These shoes were in fact the "overruns". What ever they had left over he would pick up cheap ... they would never show up on his books or on ours. When we went out of business, we did this all the time. We would bring in shoes to sell as if we were trying to get rid of all our inventory. My dad saw the writing on the wall ... a mall was being build and he new Main St would die ... it did. Just an idea but how about some toy companies? I flew a lot of gas powered airplanes around in circles (U-control) as a kid ... many were made by Cox. Or maybe even Mattel? Or hey, how about AMF ... Now that would be interest! They made toys, scuba gear, bowling machines, owned Harley Davidson for a while, ..... That could be very very interesting! Thanks for the great work, even my wife watches your videos with me!
When i was a poor kid growing up, you didn't want to be caught dead in a Big Lots.. Now as an adult, i realize that the person that saw you there was also shopping at Big Lots.
slob
Who cares what people think, that's not very punk rock.
The Godfather my mom went to all of those stores and didn’t care who thought what! We always ate good and had a bunch of toys of all types...from cheep transformer knock offs to name brand video games. I still shop at all the discount stores and fondly remember getting a j I joe out of the pic and save on Manchester and Crenshaw that is now a Big Lots...lol...I never knew why it’s name changed but what it sold didn’t 💁🏾♂️
Hey man whatever makes your dollar go the farthest. Your mom was just trying to do what she could for your family I'm sure. I totally hear you though. Big lots didn't exist when I was a kid but we had similar discount stores we went to in the 80's.
Where are you from that big lots is such a bad store to shop at??
Ill be honest I didn't know that Big Lots was successful I thought they were on there way to closing since I was young.
I noticed that many has closed out too. The stuff they sell can easily be bought online and shopping there is a hit or miss since they may not carry what you are looking for.
Well over the last 5 years their stock price has half'd and their market cap (on the NYSE) is now under 800m (big drop for them, they were a multi billion $ company before). Seems their assets are growing though. Revenue is essentially stagnant with growth not even worth mentioning, but their net income is up. 2019 was a really good year for them looking back now. Not a company I would expect any meaningful growth from but they have been relatively stable and they don't look like they're in any terrible financial troubles so they'll probably be around for some time to come.
Same
Same for Burlington Coat Factory. 40yrs old and I be up that bih. Cant see myself paying $180 for a pair of jeans at the mall smh.
Me too because the one in my town was always dirty and then it closed
I worked for BigLots for 2 years when I was a teenager, I unloaded trucks and stocked shelves. The trucks were always full of random stuff from other retailers, it was kinda fun to see all the stuff and they treated their employees very well, or at least they did at the one I worked for.
I currently work at Big Lots and I do exactly that. In addition, I'm a furniture associate. My SM can be annoying but he treat the workers decent and the people I work with are pretty sociable
Same. Im the FSL at my Biglots and unloading the truck is kinda hard sometimes ngl. But it is fun to look through the new items lol
I worked there as a teenager in the 90's. I stocked shelves too and it was fun. I'll never forget the time the boss came up to me and and said "Do something with the toy section." I asked him what and he said "Whatever you want. Rearrange it to look better, your call." That was a cool work day.
I quit there after working for two years because the SotF remodel was not panning out. I was mainly furniture sales. Made them about 50k a month and only got 20 hours a week. They even sent me to other stores to help out, but in the end I left cause if the horrible management. Now I work for an actual furniture company doing sales and make commission and pull about $4 more per hour than what my FSL is currently making.
Cameron Thomas I hate the SotF layout. It seems like everything is changing recently (we just got our remodel in November
I really like big lots. It's got really cool stuff for very cheap. I always had a great time going there as a kid to see what sort of neat old lego sets they had. Side note, one of my uncles works there.
As someone who works at a Big Lots currently and literally started binge watching your videos an hour ago, this was a pleasant surprise. Not gonna lie, my experience at my Big Lots has been nothing but great. Hours have been good to me(for part-time) and pay has been decent too. Great video Company Man!
I work at Big Lots. 2015 to the present day. The hours are 4am until 10am and that is unloading the truck on Monday's and stocking products the rest of the week. I really enjoy it actually and the early hours enable you to still have a life when you are done with your shift. It's only 30 hours but you will get the same amount if you work at for example Wal-Mart or Target but that consumes your whole day. When your 6 hours are up it's only 10am so you have the whole day to do whatever you want. I'm pointing this out for anyone who wants a change to their working life for the better, I would recommend Big Lots.
Thank You Company Man for the great video.
About how much is that per hour?
@@maximiIiaan
it's usually around $11 or $12 after a year of working at minimum wage. I live in Oregon and the minimum wage is $10.75 so i maxed out at $12.
I drive the truck you people unload...thank you
@@maximiIiaan my understanding is the company hires at a base of $9.50/hr but obviously it depends on the state and your experience. So you might get paid more.
No offense but wouldn't that mean waking up at 3am to get to work by 4am? Honestly, I'd rather work 4-10 PM. But if that works for you, great!
My local Big Lots really stepped up their game in the last year. They moved into an old Kmart space and refinished the entire inside. It used to be dark and gloomy in the old one. Now it's bright and welcoming. Being a member, they email me daily, sometimes twice per day, where years ago you only heard from them when they had a 20% off sale. There's been a lot of competition closures in the past couple of years and I think they're stepping up to fill the void.
Gary Oak Well i didn’t really understand the „happiness“ about the spam-mails either, but it made the point clear about them taking the whole thing more serious, but wtf? Who wouldnt be happy, as a customer, „member“ or as a worker there when they renovate? I personally wouldn‘t want anything else than a better shopping experience if the prices stay the same
This store wouldn't be on Beneva near a gym would it?
Chris Clark do you live in Michigan? Because near me that happened
I go to Ollie's they always have good deals over there on various automotive bits and baubles... Really dumb of Big Lots to kind of move away from this
Lucky that must mean it’s a big store lol more deals to find lol
Please make a video on Sysco, the huge foodservice industry supplier. Seems like they're practically everywhere.
They're the soul provider of our dry goods at every Jimmy johns I've worked at
Yesssss
next door to big lots hq in Columbus, as it happens.
That would be an interesting video. They're everywhere.
They supply most my schools food.
I went to a job interview at my local Big Lots when I was young wearing a shirt that had a picture of a toaster on it and it said "get toasted" below it. Never got that call back for some reason....Awesome shirt though.
I work at what they call a “Store of the future” and it’s actually really nice in there. We got good management and our store has been doing pretty good.
We are getting our SOTF in August!
D B SOTFs are very visibly appealing. It makes the store feel more inviting and organized. The lighting is good too. The company is going in the right direction with SOTFs. You will like how it looks. Only complaint is the register counter and four ways are black, and the scratches really show (dust is very noticeable too but we keep them clean). Hope you like how it comes out! More customers will definitely come in.
Clicked on this video because I wanted to point out that my local Big Lots closed down and the local Kmart is still open
Aaaaand now I miss Big Lots
Granting the Rant Big Lots in my city was actually a Kmart before they moved to a Super K in the 90s, the Super K closed in the early 2000s.
What a k mart
WhoIsAmaze go watch company man oldest vidoe
Kmart probably wont be open much longer.
@American Paisa it's located in Redwood City, CA but there's also Kmarts on Guam last I went
This video made my heart so full thinking of all the fond memories of afternoons spent shopping at Mac Frugal's with my grandma. She's been gone for almost 15 years but I would do anything to shop those cluttered aisles, with poorly kept tile, one more time.
I think it’s because they often have a bunch of hot wheels! That’s essential for any successful store
BWHW1977 The big lots! in my area barely has any
MrOiram46 mine has almost as much as a Wal-Mart!
Toys R us *cough cough*
desty makes sense!
desty Rip toys r us.
I've been working @ Big Lots for 4 years now part time. I love it there, I have a profession but I've kept Big Lots on the side the whole time. No reason to quit. They've been good to me.
update???
@@ufc_fan Still there! 6 years now. I'm about to go in after my I get off from my main job in the next hour for a few hours.
@@deebee8825 Wow your awesome lol youd probably be manager by now if it was your main job
@@ufc_fan Lol thanks. Not enough work life balance as a manager there. I love my flexibility, it definitely serves its purpose just going in 12-13 hours a week.
“Was it silly to operate under different makes for so long?”
Carl’s Jr: **sweats nervously**
I forgot about this store. Haven't been in years.
8luvbug I got one down the street from me
There seems be one every 20 mins where I live 😅
I don’t even know where a Big Lots is. Can’t remember.
they're awesome for pillows and furniture
What’s big lots? Is it sort of like target but cheaper?
I will gladly purchase your overly-garlicked, three-day-old pasta.
ME TOO!!!!!
And Big Lots just found their customers!
That pasta might straight up kill you based on the latest video from Chubbyemu
Stokes A look up Chubbyemu , and watch his latest video
You can never have too much garlic
Kb was my favorite toy store when I was a kid. God just the mention of it brings me to my early 90s childhood. My mom used to just leave me there while she shopped at the Mervyn’s next door. What a wonderful memory
KB was the sh*t.
I refer to it as Big Lots but in my mind it's still Pick N Save.
I have worked for Big Lots for about seven years and going on four years as a furniture manager. It's a great place to work for and just last year they raised their minimum wage to $9.50 an hour per part time associate and $12 an hour for managers. I love my job and we carry a lot of name brands in furniture as in Ashley, Simmons, Lane, Serta,etc. Great video overall.
Donovan which location you work at boo? Im the FSL at my Biglots!
@@MellissaAnndontforgetaboutme Shepherdsville,Ky store #216
I work part time in furniture. Great job to keep me busy when my other endeavors slow down in the winter. I'll work one or two days a week during the summer, and will work emergency situations and F&F when I'm available. The flexibility, and fantastic management has kept me around. I genuinely enjoy the job. I'm loving the new standardized layout with "The Store of the future" concept. It's nice being able to walk into any of the stores that have gone through the renovation knowing exactly where everything is.
Yeah. And I don't mind the dented boxes of Triscuits either. The box is usually 1.50 less than the retail markets.
River City MOVERS I do mind food 6 months past their sell by date though, this is a big problem with their dry foods in the middle aisles
I just got a nice loveseat for $480 on Sunday. It would’ve been $600 but Big Lots has everything 20% off that day!
This is their friends and family sale. It's done once a quarter. It's awesome because there are almost no restrictions. Everything in the store is 20% off regular everyday prices.
We got a mattress 20% off and paid $80. :)
I love their friends and family sale...and the sale was for 2 days. 👍🏽👍🏽
#junk see you in 6 months
Big Lots has become a bit more like a mix between the grocery section of a CVS mixed with the housewares department of a Walmart. Ollie's is like Big Lots used to be
Expect the groceries are still much cheaper than CVS.
Yes Ollie's definitely looks the way Big Lots used to be. I love both!
I love Big Lots. There Fresh Finds store brand is comparable to the national brands at a much lower price.
I live in Columbus, Ohio...I love Big Lots! They are really one of my favorite haunts still...great video!!!
Great news: Sheetz has announced plans for its first Columbus, OH store to open in 2021.
i remember kb toys when i was a kid. it was very fun to go into, inside the mall. best toy store in the mall.
Yeah, they had video games ♥️
Please do the rise and fall of the Chongryon, a North Korean group in Japan that once owned tons of businesses like Pachinko casinos to help fund the North Korean government. One of the most successful groups in Japan until it was caught red handed by the Japanese government and ordered them to repay billions of yen to the debt-collection body. Leading to their bankruptcy. They still have a presence in the country but it's not as a big as it once was. And now, they're targeted more than ever before.
Did you give up your Nukes yet?
@Gary Oak Careful he'll Nuke us All, just say sorry and buy him an Ice Cream Cone.
Gary Oak smell ya later
Yes!
Get out of here Kim with your dictator lookin ass lmao
I've found never been opened Blu-rays for 5$ or less. I got the Alien Quadrilogy (Alien 1-4) on Blu-ray for 5$. I love Big Lots
I’m a total sucker for those deeply discounted DVDs, man. I have a collection of several hundred, and I think on average I’ve paid like maybe $7 per title
I used to do the same thing at my local pawn shop. I used to buy random CDs and DVDs for 2bucks. Some great finds were Megadeth Youthanasia and Dog Soldiers. The year Iron Man 3 came out, I watched it from the comfort of my home before it was even in theatres thanks to a Chinese bootleg. I will never buy a physical movie media again. Thanks internet people! Keep seeding
Do buc-ee's Texas gas stations
Seeing Buc-ee's approx. 300 fuel pumps for the first time is baffling, but going inside to look around is a life changing experience. What is more amazing is that it is not at all a truck stop. Forget Dairy Queen or HEB, Buc-ee's is a must visit destination in Texas. They do need a location on I-40 though.
George V. Cohea no one cares about your shitty state
One of the more interesting things is that they won’t allow 18-wheelers or even tractors without trailers. Besides saving real estate, it makes them feel more like a premium and friendly place to stop versus a grungy truck stop.
@@jacobstienecker I hate Texas, but I am fascinated by Buc-ee's. I also have never lived or even stayed in Texas for more than a few days at a time.
@@GarrettOHara Bro Buccees is the best!
My mom and I shop at Biglots so much! We aren't poor or anything, and I honestly really enjoy discount/clearance stores because not only are they cheap, but you can often actually find pretty interesting and very good quality products there that you wouldn't always find at more commercial retail chains. Tuesday Morning is another such store that we often visit and we love it.
My friend told me about it also but would like to go there and see their service 😊
Hope you don’t if I bring you back to this comment?
I just realized he could’ve made the title:
Big Lots - How did they get so Big?
I remember when my Mac Frugals became a Big Lots. Mac Frugals was a weird store... it was more like a big open warehouse with large cardboard tubs full of random stuff.They pretty much just pulled this stuff off the truck and put it on the warehouse floor for customers to sort through. You might find a tub full of bathmats and toasters together.
I love biglots, I was getting super cheap drinks for $1 that normally are $2.69. I would fill up a cart and spend $70. Not everything was cheap but definitely little lower prices. Walmart only has them beat with selection, everything else about Walmart blows. Long live Big Lots!
Andrew Ament
Walmart shall prevail!!!
I bought all of my furniture at Big Lots. I bought my couch there nearly three years ago, and I just saw the same couch there this past week! I love Big Lots!
I would buy one there too, but they don't deliver! Prices look good at $298.00!!
@@Drumbeat52 we have a third party number that does delivery
@@Chillcat584 What town?
The stores do look nice, and some of the products you would find useful are poor quality, but you do find that unique item like those pickled beets from poland.
They often have polish pickles at my local store. lol
Bought an extremely low priced 40 " pivoting TV wall mount it works like a dream
Well, hell-- I'll take the pickled beets if nobody else wants 'em. 😀
Obtained my bar stools here before we built the bar... they are sturdy ...
Do one on Boflex! We’ve been seeing commercials for years about their exercise equipment. Who makes it? How are they doing as a company?
They are like the Kmart that survived (for now)
Jonathan Duenas the Kmart near me shut down and the big lots too
Kitkat :3
In MN they shut down a big lots and a Kmart too
Our kmart shut down and now big lots is moving into their space
@@TigerLilly4495 sweet. Our kmart building is vacant.... probably will be forever.
The Big Lots I work at took over a K-Mart
They're best for furniture and holiday decorations. It really matches their business model and these are items that you typically are no looking for a specific brand name for. Yet it's still very good quality.
I personally love big lots. It's not like I am financially reliant on it but it is a very nice place to buy chips and candy and other foods that are bit on the expensive side at the local supermarket
Do a vid on Dollar General or Family Dollar next pleasee
"dollar store"
Ldub0775 you maybe don’t have a Dollar General where you live and it’s not the Dollar store
@@jackie6828 Yep! The only ACTUAL "Dollar Store" near me is "Dollar Tree" ($1 or less on every item.) Dollar General and Family Dollar are inflation adjusted versions of what used to be called "5 & 10" stores. (Deep discount, but more than $1).
dude, you can never have too much garlic
I love garlic on my furniture
Garlic is trash
@@breakingbacon658 I love showering with garlic!
You should've covered their conversion to a furniture store chain. They closed all their stores that couldn't carry furniture.
Is this Ross', TJ Maxx's and Marshall’s business model? Or is it different?
Was wondering the same thing.
Ross, TJX, etc. focus on clothing and decor. While the original purchasing plan was the same Big Lots expanded it to encompass all of the items found in what we used to call a five-and-dime., adding furniture in some stores in the 1990s.
Tj and Marshalls a lot of custom items and mix in with manufacturers orders. Only a few of their items are left over purchases
AND BURLINGTON, they all have basically the same shit (sometimes good tho)
Yea same plan and idea but they focus more on clothing and home decor where big lots deals with home furnishings beds home decor and appliances also food and toys also
I feel like this should be the rise and fall and rise and fall again of Big Lots. They seemed to be doing well and rather attractive in the late 2000s/early 2010s, but now a lot of them are looking more and more run down and some are even closing down. They've seem to be in a decline since 2017 or so.
Zzyzx Wolfe there all gonna be remodeled they did ones by me
Actually they’re in debt
@@SixxNick I'm not....surprised. thanks for the update
Big Lots used to have some great deals and I went there quite often.
But recently I leave without buying anything as I can find compritable
Items cheaper elsewhere.
I’m high af, I don’t even know what “big lots” is I just like hearing you talk ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Liked and subscribed.
Glad I'm not the only one who enjoys his voice.
You guys might like Knowing Better if you like this guy's voice.
lmfaoooo
Big fucking mood haha
I discovered your channel early last year and I must say, I'm glad for it. Normally have little interest in economics, but your videos are really engaging and make it interesting to the point that I was surprised. Keep up the good work!
Also, the shelves of Progresso during a sentence that uses the word "progression" is top tier use of B roll. 😂
Big lots : One mans trash is another mans treasure at low prices.
Funny thing is, nothing they sell is really trashy. they sell really good hummus great healthy snack foods, ( really quite awesome mixed vegetable chips and other things!) have good prices on drinks and have small items which one oft times overlooks when shopping department stores. Surprisingly pretty awesome if you like to DIY Thai foods as they sell coconut milk coconut oil for frying and aloe drink there. I pop in from time to time when I am around just because it's as convenient as any walmart or gas station but what you can get there is often of surprisingly good quality and quirky/cool.
Big lots is awesome. I forget about it but when ever I do go in, I can find the best stuff for amazing deals. I hope they stick around for many more years ☺
Grew up going to a Big Lots! regularly, which my parents *still* refer to as MacFrugal's (we're from Miami). Now I'm in New England and there's a place that is exactly like it called Ocean State Job Lot. In fact, I was so curious I read their wikipedia page after going there because I was trying to figure out if Big Lots owned them, but they don't. I did however learn a bunch of the stuff you mentioned in this video via that wikipedia rabbit hole. Great video.
Half the time when I ask customers for their ocean state card, they give me a big lots one... I don't think most people even realize there's a difference
Ocean State Job Lot used to be called East Coast Marketplace and they were big in New England for many years before Big Lots(or Odd Lots as it was known then) came into the area.
I never been in a “Big Lots” store or knew anything about it. I was completely wrong in what I thought the store was. I had Home Depot in my head for some reason. I found the video very informative for someone who had no clue about this company ⭐️⭐️😊
I love Big Lots. It's not the kind of place you go to get something specific, but every time I walk in there, there are tons of things I find that would be useful and I'd like to have.
But gotta love those 33¢ rando energy drinks lololololololol
As soon as I saw this, I knew I would hear the name Pic N Save again.
I remember my parents taking me to Pick and Save when I was i kid growing up in Mission Viejo, CA then saw it change to big lots.
I think the KB-Toys merger was why I remembered Big Lots as always having really cool toys growing up.
Dude, you need to do Ross Stores. Who also own DD's Discounts, and who at a time were connected to Mervyn's, pretty much the Kohl's of yester year. In fact, a Ross Stores and Mervyn's video would be fantastic. Also, do you remember Montgomery Ward?
10:10 I see what you did there... Talking about BigLots progression while rolling b-roll of progresso soup. I’m on to you company man, with all your subliminal messages. 😉
I actually like this store
one. cheap food
Two. cheap electronics
Three. cheap stuff
You must be a cheap fucker
You get what you pay for.
@@troyyork1554 Cheap is not always bad snob!
@@judcrandall6762 Cheap is not always bad snob!
@@vaderladyl do you remember Deal$.
Please talk about Kay Bee Toys!!!
Just wanted to state publicly that I love big lots. Thank you that is all. Carry on.
I work at store 0083 in lorain as a sales associate/ furniture associate i also help unload the trucks when they come in. I can tell you right now best decision even i work usually 20 hours a week sometimes 30 (once in a blue moon) but hey i got a good job not complaining. I cant tell you how it’s changed my life this is my first job and hopefully a job will have for a long time. (Edit earlier this year 2022 I was promoted to furniture sales specialist I work about 30 hours now sometimes 20 an occasional 39 but I can tell you right now there’s no other place I would be right now)
Big Lots seems to be going through tough times as of this writing, in fact the store closest to me is shutting down. Might want to consider a “The Decline of Big Lots” video sooner or later
I’ve worked for BigLots from August to December in 2018 and I was surprised about how successful it was. Employees getting paid $9.50/hr and was selling items for a low price and having “Big Sales” every so often.
geez $9.50 an hour is rough. I make more money doing chores than that shit 🤣
I work at a big lots now and I don't know how things were in the past, but lately the working conditions have been slowly deteriorating. The minimum wage is about $12 dollars an hour and if you are a good employee then god help you because they will overwork you to death. Sometimes the company would get extremely carried away with furniture stock and would overload us to the point where we could barely move around in the stockroom. I even read somewhere that one guy was fired for trying to report a health code violation. During the covid pandemic is where they showed their true colors. First off our store was undergoing a renovation and we had to stay open and the store was incredibly busy making things extremely difficult and they didn't even bother to give us new registers or doing things like installing price scanners anywhere meaning we were essentially stuck with computers that were at least ten years old. The registers would sometimes crash and if you tried to remove the scanner from its charging stock at some of the registers it would just stop working. Second off during the covid pandemic the company cut all the employees pay and all the managers lost their bonuses even though we were insanely busy and making a lot in sales.
That sounds illegal, what state were you working at?
@@vadoinak620 Michigan
As someone who works here I can say he is exactly right about how we do inventory as someone who unloads the truck we usually have between 500 to 2000 pieces on the truck ranging from food pallets to furniture to knick nacks ect
I remember there was a Big Lots, where I use to live close enough to walk to easily. I remember I liked going there.
I liked them back in the Odd Lots days, but not impressed now. The deals don't seem that good now.
Back in the '90's, they had a great selection of the crappiest tools ever manufactured, and they sold the tools for the lowest prices ever. This was great. You could buy specialty tools even though you would probably only use them 1 time (and that's about how long they would last). I guess Harbor Freight has built stores all over now to fill that void.
Their new "customer service standard" is borderline stalking and harassment. They stared my family down the whole time and no less than four people asked if we needed help. One rep even eavesdropped a conversation to my wife in order to make product suggestions. "Oh, you're making chili for dinner? Seasoning is that way." That is one creepy ass store!
This is my favorite CZcams channel
I'm honored.
my first job was at a Big Lots. It was a poorly run junk store back then, around 2002. I recently went into the store to shop and was surprised how well the store is doing now. Its clean and much better organized. When Walmart came to town in 2004 I thought it was doomed but they are still around and doing well. The adjustment to carry more staples works well, you still have to check in every once and a while to see the close out deals. Very good strategy by management there.
Wish to have witnessed how Big lot look in 2002 anyways they doing better now
How long do you work there ?
Hope you don’t mind if I bring you back to this comment
*I worked at Big lots starting in early 2018 for a little over one year.* I was paid around 50 cents more than minimum wage, keep on mind minimum wage was $12 per hour in the area of California I worked in, I am sure if you work in a state were minimum is low, that Biglots will start you off a higher base pay than minimum wage (whatever wage is competitive in your area). There is always stuff to do. My managers were great, super professional and reasonable. I didn't have to work truck. Truck sucks ass, I worked it a few times when I first started, the truck time varies by each location, ours was 4:00 am. Big Lots is a much more laid back environment than a Walmart or Target also the stores are much smaller so you will get to know everybody. The only issues I had with the company is that their is no way to go full time unless your a manager, which means in California I was capped out at 30 hours a week, that's the max for CA part time. Also there is no way to move up in the company from the base position, unless you have been their for many years, at least 5-10 for a lower end manger and 2-3 for a shift leader. They offer very little part time benefits the only useful benefit is 20-30% everything which is extremely high for this part or retail, their benefits for their full time Managers are some the best in all of retail. I ended up quiting after a little over a year and transfering to a different smaller discount retailer where the base pay was $1.25 more per hour and where I can actually work my way up in the company in a much quicker time frame. *My advice to anyone would be to try to get into the best first like Costco, Chick-fil-A, In&Out, Best Buy, they are have much better work environments and better pay, if that fails go work at Big Lots.*
YES ANOTHER VIDEO!! I was just about to do my school work but that can wait 😊
Big Lots has the best/cheapest Halloween decorations! :)
But you gotta buy them in June
@@jaysonedson no, you don't lol
You should definitely revisit this soon as the company is about to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Sad one my favorite stores
I used to work at Big Lots as a manager. Their biggest opportunity is store operations. They significantly under staff their stores because they don't believe customers expect a high level of quality in regards to store conditions and service. But that attracts lower-level employees which in turn hurts productivity. They basically carry the same employee model than they do with their product. They take the leftovers. If they could be an employer of choice, still carry a high profit margin with their product, their business could explode to another level..
I’m from Ohio and my family still calls Big lots Odd Lots
lol
I'm about to ditch the roommates and get a apartment by myself. The problem though is I own no furniture besides my bedroom set, no dishes, no silverware, nothing. My plan is to go to the local big lots and sign up for their rewards card that gives you 15% your purchase the day you sign up and drop about 2 grand furnishing my apartment. If I were to go to a traditional furniture store it would cost me double that probably. The quality of the furniture might not be the best but I can always replace items one at a time later on after they start to fall apart.
I lived at this store when I was a college student and when I got my 1st apartment. Ah good memories. They really should market themselves to young adults.
Young adults know about it, trust me.
@@vaderladyl Word. My first apartment was furnished almost entirely from Odd Lots and family hand-me-downs. lol
The reason why big lots is successful is because they refuse to pay employees much more than minimum wage and sell dollar store products for $10+
Opened two big lots stores and worked for two years.
Mcspazatron I agree with u I worked there for 2 years
There are a couple of big lots store near me that went out of business.
Then get a job that doesn’t pay minimum wage and stop complaining
Yea, starting positions shouldn't be paid more than 10 dollars per hour. Liberal.
@@tonybionicspeed, Exactly.
I grew up with Pick 'N Save and when they changed to Big Lots it was a shock. In fact, my dad started his first job at Pick N Save in the 70's. But now I know how it became Big Lots! Thanks Company Man.
I love Big Lots especially around Christmas time! they are killing it with their Christmas decor!
Can you please talk about Ollie’s Bargain Outlet?
I don't know about other locations but sometimes the Ollie's near me smells like smoke apparently from literal fire sales
Came here to comment something like this.
Lol the sign at the Ollie's near me has/had a bunch of the lights in the sign burnt out, at night it would read 'Li Utlet'
Ollie's -- Good Stuff Cheap! Quick facts: started in the Harrisburg PA area, the current CEO Mark Butler started as a store clerk, and is now also principal owner of the Harrisburg Senators minor league baseball team (AA Affiliate of the Washington Nationals).
Links to more info: www.pennlive.com/news/2017/08/ollies_bargain_outlet_inspirat.html
www.pennlive.com/news/2017/08/ollies_bargain_outlet_is_boomi.html
Love Olies. Good and cheap.
I don't see the logic under operating under so many different names. I like how they unified all of their business under one name... it makes a lot of sense.
They actually bought interest or played a capital role in establishing the other chains, excepting MacFrugals which they bought outright and renamed within months.
Taxes is the main reason
Taxes?!
@@companyman114 Enduring comments like this are among the reasons I admire you, CM.
The history of Big Lots (so renamed because of federal trademark issues) isn't complete without exploring the predecessor company Consolidated Sales Corp. [sic] which was a similar idea and was operating as early as 1937. Many, but not all, CSC stores are open and operating as Big Lots in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky today.
I work for a food pantry in Michigan. I can tell you Big Lots has been very generous to us! Thank you Big Lots😘😘
Great video. I'd never heard of Big Lots until I moved to the PNW. After moving without much furniture I got a great deal on a couch for my new place and used to buy snacks and other odds and ends there. Decent stuff for a good price. Interesting that they bought out Pic N Save...I remember those stores growing up and had always wondered what happened to them, and now I know!
Glad you witnessed their service 😊😊
I rate them 7/10
Hbu lol 😂
We only have one Big Lots remaining near me which is surprising because I live in a decently large city. We had a second location but that closed in 2008 and is now home to Total Wine. But a few months ago it was announced that a new Big Lots would be moving into a vacant Safeway. I’ve never actually been into a Big Lots but it seems like a good place to score some deals
Hm, my Big Lots was also a vacant Safeway at one point.
So you wrote a long paragraph to explain there was 2 big lots near you, then only 1, and there are to be 2 again. You could've saved a lot of time by saying you have 1, soon to be 2 big lots near you.
Jared Hicks I was just sharing my personal experience with the store, just like Company Man suggested us to do. But then you came along and wrote a smart ass comment that accomplished nothing. If your just gonna shit on my comment and not even partake in the discussions we’re having them I suggest you say nothing at all...
Collin I liked the way you wrote your story:) keep it up man!😊
Next episode
Dollar Tree
Bigger than you know or Why there successful
Last time I went few years back, a row of shelves collapsed on two lady employees setting up merchandise. I helped get them out before fire department arrived. Haven't been back since.
Anyhow, most items sold are junk.
I work here and might I saw the change from a lot of general merchandise to NVOs has actually kinda made the store more cluttered and more of that “store you go to when you’re poor.” And depending on your store’s sales, way more stock than you can hold is sent to crowd up your stockroom. They also use a flawed rewards system and pretty much bases employees hours on how many people they get to sign up. It’s not an enjoyable experience to work here. But I digress, there actually is some good stuff here and it’s cheap. It’s great to get pantry staples as dates are constantly being rotated and you’ll know you have a good chunk of time. The furniture is also really nice too
I like big lots, i don't go there too often but when I do I love the random bargains you can get.
Will you ever do a video on Albertsons, an Idaho-based grocery chain that has had a very interesting history? Up until Supervalu bought them out 12 years ago (also at the time, they sold off Sav-on Drugs and Osco Drug to greedy CVS), they had competitive prices with the Safeway (they rose up again after buying Safeway in 2014, a year after Supervalu spun them off) and Kroger related chains, and a strong reputation for quality, but they struggled after major acquisitions and expansions in the late 90's. In the past 15 years, Albertsons has has closed many stores and has abandoned once-stronghold areas like Denver (stores were closed gradually from 2006 to 2016, when the remaining Denver area stores were converted to Safeway), Utah (stores sold to independent operators in 2009), Florida ( most stores were sold to Publix in 2008 with the remaining Florida stores closing in 2016 and converting to Safeway), Northern California (stores were sold to NorCal grocery chain Save Mart in 2007), Oklahoma (stores sold to independent operators in 2007), and Omaha (stores sold to independent operators in 2004).
Love your icon.
One OK Albertson's became a Pyramid Foods -
barely had to change the logo, just chop off the legs!
A = ∆
Do people not know Albertsons? Great Chicken. I miss it. They sold to Safeway around here a year or two ago.
The Albertson's and Vons here in LV are now owned by the same company? (Their mailers have both names.) Also much higher prices than Smiths (Kroger) except their JFU app/online coupon items... Which is just about the only thing I go there for now.
i liked their original store name better.... "SOMEONE'S GOTTA WANT THIS CRAP!"
blunt and cheeky at the same time! 😎🥳🤡🤭🧐😈
Company Man - Why They're Successful at making Awesome CZcams Videos
About time to update this video to the "The Rise and Fall" category.
I grew up going to Big Lots, so when I had the opportunity to intern for the company this past summer, I was hooked. The video does well explaining Big Lots’ new custom acquisition program and merchandising. Another reason for their success is improving the company culture and employee experience. From more involvement in corporate social responsibility to building a brand new headquarters (my first day of work was their second week in a state of the art building), Big Lots is set up for success in the coming years. Thank you for the video!
I remember, from a kid's perspective, they ruined KB toys. It all became very sterile and corporate. Akin to if your farmer's market suddenly only sold Coke and Frito Lay.
You should do a "Bigger Than You Know" for Land O Lakes. Butter is by far not their main source of revenue. Just listened to an interview with their new CEO on Kara Swisher's podcast Recode Decode. I recommend checking it out.
I've considered it.
Most of my relatives sell milk to Land O'Lakes.
Man, Big Lots is really good in theory, the one I work at is kind of the worst case scenario with that. Yeah, we sell the stuff people wanna just get rid of, but some of the managers will put /anything/ on the shelves. I literally just got rid of some really nice-looking cranberry juice that none of the stockers noticed was out of date. And management doesnt really seem to care about that kind of stuff, nor their associates. Their bottom line isnt neccessarily "Sell Cheap Stuff At A Profit", it's "Spend As Little As Possible". I cant tell how many times people had to complain about bags, carts, heating, or the goddam stys that are the bathrooms, but nothing's changed in the yeat I've been there. They just put out four fans in the front during the summer and that's it.
I guess it was a half-vent, half-perspective piece, but hey, my two cents. It's weird seeing the place you work at as the subject for a video, and I literally just got off the clock, so it's kind of surreal. Anyways, keep up the good work!
I suppose that the management team makes a huge difference. I started working for the company around 2 years ago as a part time winter job, and refuse to leave the place due to the wonderful experiences I've had there. Management, and coworkers have been fantastic, and we certainly keep an eye out for the things that you mentioned. Most pleasant job I've ever had, and that's high praise considering that I prefer to be self employed.
@@JakeWerkmeister Honestly yeah, and same sort of situation here. I hear the other stores in the region are still a lot better managerial-wise, but the one i work at is /still/ one of the top spots business-wise (somehow). Like, I like the work, but everything else is just dysfunction and penny-pinching.
@@cranktherider4302 see that's weird. Our numbers are very good in our region, but there's never really pressure from management to cut corners. We're only a few hours away from Columbus, so we get occasional visits by the high ups of the company. They've always been friendly as well, and don't have us tripping over frivolous nonsense. Some of the company execs are actually retired execs from other companies. Essentially, this is a "fun job" for them too.
Very interesting. My dad owned a small family shoe store (1963 to 1976 ... he had worked in a shoe stores since he was a teen) on Main St of our small town. Back then, all the stores closed Wednesday afternoon and Sunday (Thursday and Friday nights open till 9:00). On Wednesday, we (he let us skip school) take a trip (about 1 -2 hour drive) to two or three shoe factories. We would be met by the owner. Cash would be exchanged and we would put a few cartons of shoes into the station wagon (1967 Chevy) ... when was the last time you saw the owner of a large factory loading cartons. These shoes were in fact the "overruns". What ever they had left over he would pick up cheap ... they would never show up on his books or on ours. When we went out of business, we did this all the time. We would bring in shoes to sell as if we were trying to get rid of all our inventory. My dad saw the writing on the wall ... a mall was being build and he new Main St would die ... it did. Just an idea but how about some toy companies? I flew a lot of gas powered airplanes around in circles (U-control) as a kid ... many were made by Cox. Or maybe even Mattel? Or hey, how about AMF ... Now that would be interest! They made toys, scuba gear, bowling machines, owned Harley Davidson for a while, ..... That could be very very interesting! Thanks for the great work, even my wife watches your videos with me!
this makes so much sense for why customer volume seems to not matter _whatsoever_ to keeping stores open