Two mainstays of American shopping centers are going bankrupt.

Discount retailer Big Lots announced this week that it will close its remaining stores, while Party City, which recently emerged from bankruptcy, is reportedly closing its doors. The expected closures are the final chapters of the steady, long-term decline of businesses.

Big Lots said in a statement Thursday that it would begin closing all of its stores after a potential sale to an investment firm fell through. There are at least 31 Big Lots stores throughout Georgia.

“We have all worked extremely hard and taken every step to complete a going concern sale,” Bruce Thorn, president and CEO of Big Lots, said in the press release. A “going concern” is a business, legal or accounting term for a company that will continue as a going concern.

“While we remain hopeful that we can complete an alternative going concern transaction, in order to protect the value of the Big Lots property, we have made the difficult decision to begin (going out of business). process,” he said.

Party City is closing all of its stores after four decades in business, CNN reported Friday, citing video of a meeting observed by journalists. The company’s website lists 23 locations in Georgia.

According to CNN, CEO Barry Litwin informed company employees in a meeting on Friday that the retailer was immediately “ceasing operations.” Employees were informed of this on Friday is their last day of work, they will not receive any severance pay and their benefits will end when the company closes.

“It’s really important that you know that we did everything possible to prevent this outcome,” Litwin said at the meeting.

A message left for Party City was not immediately returned.

The move comes three months after the New Jersey-based party supply store emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Party City filed in January 2023 after struggling to pay off its $1.7 billion in debt and facing rising prices, growing competition from other retailers and e-commerce brands, and a decline in the consumer spending struggled. The company was subsequently delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.

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