Quarterly Investment Analysis Update

“The name change is a step towards building a powerful brand,” said Michael J. Potter in an article written for Business First-Columbus. The name change brought Big Lots, Inc.’s more than 1,300 stores collectively under the Big Lots name. 856 stores already operated beneath the Big Lots name and the remaining shops who operated as Odd Lots, Mac Frugal’s and Pic ‘n’ Save were slated to have their names changed by the end of 2002. The divesture was orchestrated rapidly, and on December 8, 2000 the corporate introduced that the $305 million sale of Kay-Bee Toys was full. An affiliate of Bain Capital, Inc. bought the Toy division along side Kay-Bee Toys management, who were retained to guide Kay-Bee Toys.