Big Lots sees soft home comps soar

Columbus, Ohio – If home was hot at Big Lots (it was), window was on fire during the third quarter.

Soft home comps increased more than 20%, driven by window and bedding. The window department as a whole saw comp jump more than 45%, with curtains up more than 50%. Comforter set comps rose more than 20%, with pillows up 33% and mattress pads up 34%.

“We have seen continued momentum from the COVID-induced nesting trend,” president and CEO Bruce Thorn told analysts during this morning’s quarterly conference call.

Same-store sales surged throughout the home department: up 25% in furniture and up 20% in hard home, led by kitchen appliances, bakeware, cookware and drinkware.

The Broyhill brand continues to pay dividends, and the company recently expanded and updated fall and holiday assortments to include area rugs, bed sheets and dec pillows, he said. Next year it will roll into housewares and kitchen textiles.

“Broyhill is on track for $400 million in first-year sales, and we believe this can be a billion-dollar business,” said Thorn, who noted that one-third of Broyhill customers are new to Big Lots.

For the quarter ended Oct. 31, sales increased 18.0% to $1.378 billion. Comp jumped 17.8%. E-commerce and omnichannel grew 70%, propelled by curbside pickup and same-day delivery.

Net income contracted 75% to $29.9 million, or $0.76 per share – beating Wall Street expectations.