COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Lots, Inc.
(NYSE: BIG) announced today that Jonathan
Ramsden has been appointed Executive Vice President, Chief
Financial and Administrative Officer, effective August 5, 2019. Mr. Ramsden will succeed
Timothy A. Johnson, who will
transition away from his roles effective August 5, 2019, to pursue other opportunities in
the for-profit and not-for-profit arenas. Mr. Johnson has agreed to
continue in an advisory role through Labor Day to provide the
opportunity for a smooth transition for the business.
Mr. Ramsden brings to Big Lots more than 20 years of experience
in senior executive roles with U.S. public companies in the retail
and marketing services industries. Mr. Ramsden spent over seven
years with Abercrombie & Fitch Co., joining as Chief Financial
Officer in 2008 and later serving as the company's Chief Operating
Officer, where his responsibilities included finance, strategy,
technology, legal, supply chain, real estate and e-commerce, and as
Interim Principal Executive Officer and as a member of the Office
of the Chairman following the departure of the former CEO. Prior to
A&F, he spent ten years as Chief Financial Officer of TBWA
Worldwide, a global marketing services group, after having served
as Controller of TBWA's parent, the Omnicom Group Inc. Mr. Ramsden
began his career with Arthur Andersen in London after graduating from Oxford University with a BA in Philosophy, Politics
and Economics with first class honors. He is a UK Chartered
Accountant.
"We are excited to welcome a leader of Jonathan's breadth of
knowledge to Big Lots as we continue to transform and more
competitively position the business for long-term success under our
Operation North Star strategic plan," said Bruce Thorn, President and CEO of Big Lots.
"Jonathan's extensive experience in financial management, strategy
and operations, along with his deep knowledge of the retail
industry, make him an ideal fit for our organization. I am
confident that we will benefit from his expertise and insights as
we remain focused on enhancing our strengths and implementing
initiatives to accelerate sales, fund the journey and ultimately
win in an ever-changing retail environment."
Mr. Ramsden said, "I am excited about the opportunity to join
the Big Lots team and apply my experience building and growing 21st
century retail businesses. Big Lots has a distinguished history, a
strong, nationally-recognized brand, and a noble purpose of helping
people live better lives. I look forward to working alongside Bruce
and the other members of the leadership team as the Company
continues its efforts to drive growth and deliver great value to
customers, associates and shareholders."
Mr. Thorn continued, "On behalf of everyone at Big Lots, I want
to extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation to Tim for his
numerous contributions to the Company. During his 18+ year career
with Big Lots, Tim has helped oversee the growth and
professionalization of our finance function, while also leading our
real estate and asset protection teams. The business
experienced significant change during his time with the Company,
and he was consistently a calming voice leading with honesty and
integrity while putting his teams and the business first. Among his
numerous achievements, Tim led our relationship with Nationwide
Children's Hospital and was instrumental in our decision to help
NCH break the stigmas associated with pediatric behavioral health
issues. After giving so much to Big Lots over the years, it would
not be surprising to see Tim grow his passion for not-for-profit
service."
In connection with today's announcement, Big Lots reaffirmed its
financial forecast for the second quarter and full year of fiscal
2019, as previously disclosed on May 31,
2019.
About Big Lots, Inc.
Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG) is
a discount retailer operating 1,407 BIG LOTS stores in 47 states
with product assortments in the merchandise categories of
Furniture, Seasonal, Soft Home, Food, Consumables, Hard Home, and
Electronics, Toys & Accessories. Our mission is to help people
Live BIG and Save Lots. We strive to be the BIG difference for a
better life by delivering unmatched value to our customers through
surprise and delight, being a "best places to work" culture for our
associates, rewarding our shareholders with consistent growth and
top tier returns, and doing good in our communities as we do well.
For more information about the Company,
visit www.biglots.com.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking
Statements
Certain statements in this release are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and such statements are
intended to qualify for the protection of the safe harbor provided
by the Act. The words "anticipate," "estimate," "expect,"
"objective," "goal," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe,"
"will," "should," "may," "target," "forecast," "guidance,"
"outlook" and similar expressions generally identify
forward-looking statements. Similarly, descriptions of our
objectives, strategies, plans, goals or targets are also
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate to
the expectations of management as to future occurrences and trends,
including statements expressing optimism or pessimism about future
operating results or events and projected sales, earnings, capital
expenditures and business strategy. Forward-looking statements are
based upon a number of assumptions concerning future conditions
that may ultimately prove to be inaccurate. Forward-looking
statements are and will be based upon management's then-current
views and assumptions regarding future events and operating
performance and are applicable only as of the dates of such
statements. Although we believe the expectations expressed in
forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions
within the bounds of our knowledge, forward-looking statements, by
their nature, involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, any
one or a combination of which could materially affect our business,
financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.
Forward-looking statements that we make herein and in other
reports and releases are not guarantees of future performance and
actual results may differ materially from those discussed in such
forward-looking statements as a result of various factors,
including, but not limited to, current economic and credit
conditions, the cost of goods, our inability to successfully
execute strategic initiatives, competitive pressures, economic
pressures on our customers and us, the availability of brand name
closeout merchandise, trade restrictions, freight costs, the
risks discussed in the Risk Factors section of our most recent
Annual Report on Form 10-K, and other factors discussed from time
to time in our other filings with the SEC, including Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. This release
should be read in conjunction with such filings, and you should
consider all of these risks, uncertainties and other factors
carefully in evaluating forward-looking statements.
You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date thereof. We undertake
no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
You are advised, however, to consult any further disclosures we
make on related subjects in our public announcements and SEC
filings.
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SOURCE Big Lots, Inc.