Use your gift cards while you can - list of store closings - (brought to you by the GOP)

STORE CLOSINGS AND LAYOFFS

If you have gift cards, hurry up and use them!!

Just passing this along - FYI



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

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.

Cache closing stores
Women's retailer Cache announced that it is closing 20 to 23 stores this year.

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.

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.

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.

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 fut ure store closures - all planned in fiscal 2008 - will be. The company could not be immediately reached for comment

Wickes is going out of 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.

Goodbye

Levitz / BOMBAY - closed already
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 .

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 announced that it is closing another 23 underperforming stores. The compa ny said it's n ot pro viding a list of specific store closures. Of the 105 locations planned for closure, 50 are kiosks and 55 are stores.

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.

Home Depot store closings (E. Brunswick, Rt 18 just put up their closing sign)
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 Inc. announced 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 fir st 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.

CompUSA (CLOSED) 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 who have 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>

Macy 's - 9 stores

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.

Pacific Sunwear - 153 Demo stores

Pep Boys - 33 stores

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.

J. C. Penney, Lowe's and Office Depot are scaling back

Ethan Allen Interiors: The company announced plans to close 12 of 300+
stores in an effort to cut cost s.

Wilsons the Leather Experts - 158 stores

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.

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.

Bombay Company: (Freehold Mall store closed) The company unveiled plans to close all 384 U.S.-based Bombay Company stores. The company's online storefront has discontinued operations.

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

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.

THANK YOU MR. BUSH AND THE ENTIRE REPUBLICAN PARTY. WE ALL HOPE THE 16 TRILLION DOLLARS SPENT IN IRAQ WAS WORTH IT! OUR ENEMIES SUPPORT YOUR EFFORTS..

I just happened to be carrying a gift card when I read that, so we went right over there and took several pints of ice cream home.

Along with $3 cups of coffee and similarly overpriced stuff.

:(

This is starting to look VERY bad indeed.

I really don't give a damn about the "technical" definition of a recession...Anyone not willing to admit we're in one is either too rich to care or an ideological asshat of the Republican kind.

and Pep Boys

For taking over Marshall Fields and destroying a huge piece of Chicago history! :grr:

Crappy replacement stores. Not surprised they are going under.

I'm not unhappy they are failing.

Thalhaimers in Richmond and made them both the same.

Hechts once competed with Woodward & Lothrup in the DC area before swallowing the competition.

All these long gone stores had their own special nuances. Everything is now the same. Where are the anti-trust laws when you want them.

:-(

As a little kid in Seattle, going to the Bon Marche was a rare and special experience (one that ceased altogether as my family became poorer).

I always think of Bon Marche as being that special, old-fashioned department store. The kind you dressed up to go to!

on edit: spelling

All across WA state... :(

has gobbled up them both! :-(

It's really saying something when they already know Christmas isn't going to save them. This announcement coming BEFORE the Christmas season even starts is a lot like the canary in the mines for retail. The dead one.

of business after the first of the new year...the Xmas retail season will be bad and bankruptcies will follow.

I so dislike Macy's...ugly stuff. They ate my Lazarus, which I loved. I wonder if Sears will survive? They do have good appliances and tools...but they certainly need help in the clothing department. If there is the ugliest dress in the world, it's at Sears. What is wrong with their buyers?

Our "Super K-Marts" are being "downsized" to Big K-Marts. In essence they're stripping out the grocery side of the business. Walmart has won that war. Job losses are significant, and the State's wheeling in some rapid response team to support those who have lost their jobs.

Mark.

but the type of credit is low down on the list, so basically, the gift card holders only get something if everyone else ahead of them is satisfied.

So basically, no, the law does not protect gift card holders.

About the only of any of those stores I frequent are the Lowes, Home Depot etc type stores. However, about 6 or 7 years ago I finally pretty much gave up on them when I finally found an Ace hardware near where I work. Lowes and Home Depot both are absolutely famous for customer no service -- and around here the fix it guys go to specialized shops mostly - plumbing supply, northern tool, etc. With the big box store lack of personal service it's no surprise people are choosing to spend their money elsewhere now that money is suddenly more valuable.

The Disney stores I have been to are way overpriced

:rofl:

I just found it funny to see them on this list, again.

Add Circuit City to the list. There have been reports of inventory and credit issues, and that's on top of existing trouble.

As for Home Depot, though, I'd take them off your list. They had been opening too many new stores for a few years under Nardelli, the previous CEO, and this is just a correction of that policy. Their core financials are very strong. If THEY go out of business, then just about every-damn-body else will have gone already.

Same goes for Sprint. They're actually doing very well. They have layoffs every year and have done so for many years in a row. That's SOP for them. These layoffs are nothing new.

I have $150 of CC gift cards and was planning on using them at xmas when I will get another one most likely. Or should I go for it asap?

They were going to try reorganization. Now they say they're just gunna bag it and go out of business.

When the news came out about the store closings, we were told that it would affect only those states, such as California, where there were multiples of AT/ATL stores within a few miles of each other.

Most of our shoppers came in to look at the sale items only, although we did have the infrequent shoppers who were looking for complete wardrobes at full price. I don't blame those looking for sales; the clothes are very expensive. We employees were given a 50% discount on 6 items per month, & I used that discount to build my wardrobe with suits & business attire with the intent of looking for a better job.

And seeing this list again just brings it home in regard to how bad the economy is. When there are this many merchants hurting, it's a good measure that things are really bad, because, generally, people like to spend -- when they have the money.

These pro-free-trade idiots thought that everything would be hunky-dory if China made all of our shit and we sold it to the people who used to make all of our shit. That would lead to "higher paying jobs" for the displaced. But hey, the rich had more than a few useful idiots who bought into this bullcrapola by making them believe they'll be rich someday too. It will trickle down. Trust us. You just GOTTA trust us.

Well, guess whut.

That, much like everything faith-based about laissez-FAIL capitalism never materialized. The cash-and-carry bastards sold us up the river and really don't care about closing these stores, because after all . . . they got THEIRS.

This era is likely going on record to be one of the worst as far as job creation goes. It's soon going to be ten straight MONTHS of no jobs gained, which will in turn soon negate the 12 months out of 50 since Bewsh's second term (when the first net new job was created since 2001) where the economy actually met the job churn; that is, meeting the quota of 150,000 jobs per month to accommodate incoming/outgoing workers.

Maybe if the corporate idiots would have factored "WE" in this thing called "the Big Picture" instead of "ME" (meaning corporate execs and board members only), we wouldn't be in the mess we are today. You cannot replace manufacturing jobs with service jobs. You cannot do it. These jobs do not provide a decent living, decent benefits, sustainability, a tax base or purchasing power. Wages in real dollars have stagnated since 1973 thanks to this phenomenon.

Once upon a time we moved away from the Gilded Age and saw the benefit of employing workers here in decent jobs. Once upon a time, we saw the benefits of free enterprise. Once upon a time, we saw the benefit of opening up automotive plants across the nation instead of Big Box Marts.

It's a failure of colossal proportions.

:sarcasm:

of work will this add up to? Thousands, ten's of thousands? Just shoot me now!

The leaders of this country said that Americans should shop and be happy, because our "shopping economy" would take care of everything.

Well well well... Have these fucking idiots, who claimed to be financial geniuses, finally figured out that if their customers, 'We The People' have no money due to lack of income and adequate paying jobs, that they will feel the blow-back from it eventually? Guess what fucking (republicans) idiots... Millions have been feeling your blow-back for years already, so pull yourselves up by the bootstraps and stop whining about what YOU need.

Pep Boys -
Better hope you don't have them go down.
Watch out for this one - they offer "sales" that require rebates - you'll get your "sale" price in 6 months or so - if you remember to gather all of the required material and send it in.
Can't miss 'em if you don't use 'em!

Closing after 98 years.

still be trying to have "winner take all" which is the way with capitalism ---

finally, one owner!

No doubt about that- though I imagine for those with spare cash, there'll be quite a few baragins out there.

no one will notice 600 fewer Starbucks.

Most are waiting to see if the numbers to be released by the GAO indicate a sustained downturn.


-- perpetual NPR news item for the last 8 years, often followed by reassuring interviews with GOP "economists" :crazy:

They also tell me when there is inflation.

Today they are telling me everything is gonna be just fine.

Color me relieved.

I was going to have lunch with some parishioners there. When we got there, it was closed. The marquee sign had one word on it: CLOSED.

The Stock Market Futures are up 421 Points and The Masters Of The Universe fixed the Economic Crisis in a couple of 30 minute meetings over the weekend.

Everything is fine now.

It's time to start shopping without reason again and getting ready for the next Speculative Bubble to get drunk off of.

These Doom And Gloom Posts just aren't productive.

:sarcasm:

I haven't seen a K.B. Toys around here in decades. If Toys R Us is in trouble I don't see how KB even still exists. I also haven't seen a Bombay Company, Sharper Image, or Eddie Bauer in years. :shrug:

And Home Depot is massively overexpanded. I have the choice of 3 Home Depots and a Lowes, all within a few miles of each other. It's out of control.