BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

All references in this report to “we,” “us,” or “our” are to Big Lots, Inc. and its subsidiaries. We are a unique, non-traditional, discount retailer in the United States of America (“U.S.”). At May 2, 2015, we operated 1,461 stores in 48 states. We make available, free of charge, through the “Investor Relations” section of our website (www.biglots.com) under the “SEC Filings” caption, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”), as soon as reasonably practicable after we file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The contents of our websites are not part of this report.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements and these notes have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC for interim financial information. The consolidated financial statements reflect all normal recurring adjustments which management believes are necessary to present fairly our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows for all periods presented. These consolidated financial statements, however, do not include all information necessary for a complete presentation of financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). Interim results may not necessarily be indicative of results that may be expected for, or actually result during, any other interim period or for the year as a whole. We have historically experienced, and expect to continue to experience, seasonal fluctuations, with a larger percentage of our net sales and operating profit realized in our fourth fiscal quarter. The accompanying consolidated financial statements and these notes should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2015 (“2014 Form 10-K”).

Fiscal Periods

Our fiscal year ends on the Saturday nearest to January 31, which results in fiscal years consisting of 52 or 53 weeks. Unless otherwise stated, references to years in this report relate to fiscal years rather than calendar years. Fiscal year 2015 (“2015”) is comprised of the 52 weeks that began on February 1, 2015 and will end on January 30, 2016. Fiscal year 2014 (“2014”) was comprised of the 52 weeks that began on February 2, 2014 and ended on January 31, 2015. The fiscal quarters ended May 2, 2015 (“first quarter of 2015”) and May 3, 2014 (“first quarter of 2014”) were both comprised of 13 weeks.

Selling and Administrative Expenses

Selling and administrative expenses include store expenses (such as payroll and occupancy costs) and costs related to warehousing, distribution, outbound transportation to our stores, advertising, purchasing, insurance, non-income taxes, and overhead. Our selling and administrative expense rates may not be comparable to those of other retailers that include warehousing, distribution, and outbound transportation costs in cost of sales. Warehousing, distribution and outbound transportation costs included in selling and administrative expenses were $41.6 million and $40.8 million for the first quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2014, respectively.

Advertising Expense

Advertising costs, which are expensed as incurred, consist primarily of television and print advertising, digital or internet marketing and advertising, and in-store point-of-purchase presentations. Advertising expenses are included in selling and administrative expenses. Advertising expenses were $21.7 million and $21.9 million for the first quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2014, respectively.

Derivative Instruments

We use derivative instruments to mitigate the risk of market fluctuations in diesel fuel prices. We do not enter into derivative instruments for speculative purposes. Our derivative instruments may consist of collar or swap contracts. Our current derivative instruments do not meet the requirements for cash flow hedge accounting. Instead, our derivative instruments are marked-to-market to determine their fair value and any gains or losses are recognized currently in other income (expense) on our consolidated statements of operations.

Supplemental Cash Flow Disclosures

The following table provides supplemental cash flow information for the first quarter of 2015 and 2014:



	Thirteen Weeks Ended
(in thousands)	May 2, 2015			May 3, 2014
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Cash paid for interest, including capital leases	$	213		$	270
Cash paid for income taxes, excluding impact of refunds	1,702			17,091
Gross proceeds from borrowings under bank credit facility	383,900			334,600
Gross payments of borrowings under bank credit facility	$	405,500		$	358,000
Non-cash activity:
Assets acquired under capital leases	$	4,996		$	—
Accrued property and equipment	$	15,293		$	8,027
Share repurchases payable	$	9,377		$	5,912
Cash flows from discontinued operations:
Net cash used in operating activities, discontinued operations	$	(237	)	$	(24,969	)
Net cash provided by investing activities, discontinued operations	$	—		$	520

Reclassifications

Merchandise Categories

In the first quarter of 2015, we realigned select merchandise categories to be consistent with the realignment of our merchandising team and changes to our management reporting. Specifically, we reclassified our home décor and frames departments from our former Furniture & Home Décor category to our Soft Home category. Subsequently, we changed the name of our Furniture & Home Décor category to Furniture. In order to provide comparative information, we have reclassified our net sales by merchandise category into this revised alignment for all periods presented in note 9 to the consolidated financial statements.

We periodically assess, and make minor adjustments to, our product hierarchy, which can impact the roll-up of our merchandise categories. Our financial reporting process utilizes the most current product hierarchy in reporting net sales by merchandise category for all periods presented. Therefore, there may be minor reclassifications of net sales by merchandise category compared to previously reported amounts.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). This update provides a comprehensive new revenue recognition model that requires a company to recognize revenue to depict the transfer of goods or services to a customer at an amount that reflects the consideration we expect to receive in exchange for those goods or services. Additionally, this guidance expands related disclosure requirements. The pronouncement is effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Early application is not permitted. This ASU permits the use of either the retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. We are currently evaluating the impact this guidance will have on its consolidated financial statements as well as the expected adoption method.