Bowling Green residents who count on the cheap prices at Big Lots, Inc., may have to shop elsewhere for bargains beginning next year.

Up to 170 Big Lots closeout stores will be closed at the end of 2005 to save the company money, a recent press release from the company shows. Stores in small Midwest towns are most likely to close.

While Bowling Green’s Big Lots could be one of the stores forced to shut down, it will be two weeks before the company releases the names of the closing locations, according to Kent Larsson, senior vice president of marketing for Big Lots.

The company, which operates 1,536 stores, originally planned to close 40 locations this year. But once the company had reviewed each store’s performance, 85 stores with marginal profits were identified. Additionally, the company’s 41 furniture stores have begun to lose money.

Closing stores is a necessary action for Big Lots, according to C. Britt Beemer, chairman of the retail consulting firm America’s Research Group.

“In retailing today, the profits are so minimal you can’t afford to have 10 percent of your stores underperforming,” he said.

In the past, Big Lots has been “opportunistic” in selecting its store locations, according to the company’s press release. Now that stores in urban locations are turning out bigger profits than small-town stores, stores are closing due to poor location.

In a college town where students are tight on money, the loss of Big Lots’ low-priced goods would be tough on students, according to Danielle Myers, a junior.

“It will definitely affect the way I spend my money,” Myers said. “A lot of college kids go there to get basic stuff. Other than Big Lots, the only other places are Wal-Mart and Meijer.”

Stephanie Sumler, a junior who has worked at Big Lots for two years, said she wasn’t worried the store would close.

“I already have another job, so I’d probably just work more there, or actually be able to study,” she said.

Sumler said no managers had brought the store’s possible closing to her attention.

“It’s been real, real quiet,” she said. “They haven’t told us anything about who is closing.”

Brian Snow, manager of the Bowling Green location, refused to comment.

According to Big Lots spokesman Tim Johnson, Big Lots stores have an average of 25 to 30 employees, and the number of jobs lost due to the closings depend on transfers to other stores.

A receptionist at the Bowling Green location said they’re taking applications for the October to January season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.