‘Extreme Value’ Retailer Closing All Stores After 30 Years

Dirt Cheap is going out of business after 30 years, and they say Target is to blame.

The Mississippi-based retailer has stores in eight states and is set to close all of them by the end of the year.

That means 68 stores will be closing, with closing sales either planned for 2024 or underway.

Dirt Cheap is an “Extreme Value Retailer” that offers other stores excess inventory and returns for sale. In addition, it’s the largest buyer of insurance claims in the United States. If a retailer gets liquidated, Dirt Cheap is often there to buy that merchandise.

Related: Major Hardware Retailer Files for Bankruptcy

Per the website, there are Dirt Cheap stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. Channel Control Merchants (Dirt Cheap’s parent company) filed for bankruptcy in Delaware on Monday (Oct. 14). Al.com shares that the company boasts 60 million items saved from landfills in 2022 alone.

The Facebook page for a Dirt Cheap store in Clarksville, Tenn. started to announcing closing sales last week. Shoppers were disappointed and nostalgic.

“I once bought a $30 microwave from Dirt Cheap. That thing lasted over a decade until I got married and my wife made me donate it to Goodwill. A toaster too,” one shopper wrote. “We’ll miss you Dirt Cheap.”

The parent company also owns Dirt Cheap Building Supplies and Treasure Hunt. Big Lots is another discount retailer who filed for bankruptcy in 2024. Dirt Cheap’s chief restructuring officer blames Target for financial problems — they started selling their best returns to a competitor, he says.

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal shares that Channel Controls Merchants owes Target $15.6 million and Amazon another $5.5 million.