Date: 6/24/08 3:06 PM
Subject: Store Closings: Symptoms of A Depressed Economy
Who says there is no depression? Recession has come and gone.
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977364401
Store Closings: Symptoms of A Depressed Economy
by Donald H.
June 07, 2008 07:04 AM EDT
views: 11848 | rating: 10/10 (15 votes) | comments: 17
1. Ann Taylor closing 117 stores nationwide A company spokeswoman
said the
company hasn't revealed which stores will be shuttered. It will
let the
stores that will close this fiscal year know over the next month.
2. Eddie Bauer to close more stores - Eddie Bauer has
already closed 27
shops in the first quarter and plans to close up to two more
outlet stores
by the end of the year.
3. Cache closing stores - Women's retailer Cache
announced that it is
closing 20 to 23 stores this year.
4. Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines closing 150
stores nationwide The
owner of retailers Lane Bryant , Fashion Bug , Catherines Plus
Sizes will
close about 150 underperforming stores this year. The company
hasn't
provided a list of specific store closures and can't say when it
will
offer that info, spokeswoman Brooke Perry said today.
5. Talbots, J. Jill closing stores - About a month
ago, Talbots announced
that it will be shuttering all 78 of its kids and men's stores.
Now the
company says it will close another 22 underperforming stores.
The 22 stores will be a mix of Talbots women's and J.
Jill, another chain
it owns. The closures will occur this fiscal year, according to a
company
press release.
6. Gap Inc. closing 85 stores - In addition to its
namesake chain, Gap
also owns Old Navy and Banana Republic. The company said the
closures -
all planned for fiscal 2008 - will be weighted toward the Gap
brand.
7. Foot Locker to close 140 stores - In the company
press release and
during its conference call with analysts today, it did not
specify where
the future store closures - all planned in fiscal 2008 - will be.
The
company could not be immediately reached for comment
8. Wickes is going out o f business - Wickes Furniture
is going out of
business and closing all of its stores, Wickes, a 37-year-old
retailer
that targets middle-income customers, filed for bankruptcy
protection last
month.
9. Goodbye Levitz - The furniture retailer, which is
going out of
business. Levitz first announced it was going out of business and
closing
all 76 of its stores in December. The retailer dates back to 1910
when
Richard Levitz opened his first furniture store in Lebanon , PA.
In the
1960s, the warehouse/showroom concept brought Levitz to the
forefront of
the furniture industry.
The local Levitz closures will follow the shutdown of Bombay.
10. Zales, Piercing Pagoda closing stores - The owner
of Zales and
Piercing Pagoda previously said it plans to close 82 stores by
July 31.
Today, it announc ed that it is closing another 23
underperforming stores.
The company said it's not providing a list of specific store
closures. Of
the 105 locations planned for closure, 50 are kiosks and 55 are
stores.
11. Disney Store owner has the right to close 98
stores The Walt Disney
Company announced it acquired about 220 Disney Stores from
subsidiaries of
The Children's Place Retail Stores. The exact number of stores
acquired
will depend on negotiations with landlords.
Those subsidiaries of Children's Place filed for
bankruptcy protection in
late March. Walt Disney in the news release said it has also
obtained the
right to close about 98 Disney Stores in the U.S. The press
release didn't
list those stores.
12. Home Depot store closings - ATLANTA - Nearly 7+
months after its chief
executive said there were no plans to cut the number of its core
retail
stores, The Home Depot I nc.ann ounced Thursday that it is
shuttering 15
of them amid a slumping U.S. economy and housing market. The move
will
affect 1,300 employees.
It is the first time the world's largest home
improvement store chain has
ever closed a flagship store for performance reasons. Its shares
rose
almost 5 percent. The Atlanta-based company said the
underperforming
U.S.stores being closed represent less than 1 percent of its
existing
stores. They will be shuttered within the next two months.
13. CompUSA clarifies details on store closings Any
extended warranties
purchased for products through CompUSA will be honored by a
third-party
provider, Assurant Solutions. Gift cards, rain checks, and
rebates
purchased prior to December 12 can be redeemed at any time during
the
final sale. For those w h o h ave a gadget currently in for
service with
CompUSA, the repair will be completed and the gadget will be
returned to
owners. http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9834177-7html <
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9834177-7.html >
14. Macy's - 9 stores -
15. Movie Gallery - 160 stores as part of
reorganization plan to exit
bankruptcyThe video rental company plans to close 400 of 3,500
Movie
Gallery and Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520
locations the
video rental chain closed last fall.
16. Pep Boys - 33 stores
17. Sprint Nextel - 125 retail locations New Sprint
Nextel CEO Dan Hesse
appears to have inherited a company bleeding subscribers by the
thousands,
and will now officially be dropping the ax on 4,000 employees and
125
retail locations. Amid the loss of 639,000 postpaid customers in
the
fourth quarter, Sprint will be cutting a total of 6.7% of its
work force
(following the 5,000 layoffs last year) and 8% of company-owned
brick-and-mortar stores, while remaining mute on other rumors
that it will
consolidate its headquarters in Kansas. Sprint Nextel shares are
down
$2.89, or nearly 25%, at the time of this writing.
18. J. C. Penney, Lowe's and Office Depot are scaling back
19. Ethan Allen Interiors: The company announced plans
to close 12 of
300+ stores in an effort to cut costs.
20. Wilsons the Leather Experts - 158 stores
21. Pacific Sunwear will close its 154 Demo stores
after a review of
strategic alternatives for the urban-apparel brand. Seventy-four
underperforming Demo stores closed last May.
22. Sharper Image: The company recently filed for
bankruptcy protection
and announced that 90 of its 184 stores are closing. The retailer
will
still operate 94 stores to pay off debts, but 90 of these stores
have
performed poorly and also may close.
23. Bombay Company: The company unveiled plans to
close all 384 U.S.-based
Bombay Company stores. The company's online storefront has
discontinued
operations.
24. KB Toys posted a list of 356 stores that it is
closing around the
United States as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. To see
the list of
store closings, go to the KB Toys Information web site, and click
on Press
Information
25. Dillard's to Close More Stores - Dillard's Inc.
said it will continue to
focus on closing underperforming stores, reducing expenses and
improving
its merchandise in 2008. At the company's annual shareholder
meeting, CEO
William Dillard II said the company will close another six
underperforming
stores this year.
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