Guess We'd Better Be Careful About Gift Certificates This Yr

Be sure to read the link at the bottom of this article for addttional info.


Guess we had better be very careful of gift certificates this Christmas.

STORE CLOSINGS AND LAYOFFS

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


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, Catherine's Plus Sizes will close about 150 under performing 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, Talbot's announced that it will be shuttering all 78 of
its kids and men's stores. Now the company says it will close another 22
under-performing stores. The 22 stores will be a mix of Talbot's 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 future 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 1960's, 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 under-performing 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.

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 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 under performing U.S. stores being closed represents 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

Macy's - 9 stores.

Movie Gallery - 160 stores as part of reorganization plan to exit
bankruptcy. The 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.

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 costs.

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 under performing 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 under performing
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 under performing stores this year.


One of my bro's pointed out some of this is very outdated news and appears to be someone's attempt to get peeps to redeem as many gift cards as possible at once. Snopes has a take on a some of the claims above:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/bankruptcies.asp

 

thanks for the heads up

 

Re: Guess We'd Better Be Careful About Gift Certificates Thi

Dont wanna sound like a know-it-all Michael, but I recently got a job as manager of the KB Toys store here in Trumbull, Connecticut and I can safely say that not only are we not closing stores, but were constantly opening new ones.

The store in Natick, Mass has just opened, and from what we're told, theres expected to be at least 20 more opened by years end.

Now, we may not have the sales that a toys r us has, but we're alive an kickin'!

Now please come to my store and buy your gift cards, or any other gifts. Help me get that sweet bonus check at the end of the month!!! :lol: :lol:

 

I hope my Fashion Bug store doesn't close.. That would suck!!!

 

One of the Fashion Bugs in my area closed.

Greta, you can still shop online ...

http://www.fashionbug.com/pagebuilder/HOME

 

I know that, but it never fits that way lol.. I always get it too small, too big, or don't like the way it feels lol... Picky with my shirts...

 

Greta, if your Fashion Bug closes you can always come to Pittsburgh, and shop at the one by my house, and VISIT ME!!!

 

Circuit City To Close 155 Stores
Electronics Store Closing 20 Percent Of U.S. Stores
Monday, November 3, 2008 – updated: 9:36 am EST November 3, 2008

RICHMOND, Va. -- Circuit City Stores Inc. said Monday it is pulling the plug on about 20 percent of its U.S. stores in an effort to return the nation's No. 2 consumer electronics retailer to profitability.

The Richmond, Va.-based company said it will shutter 155 of its more than 700 stores in 55 markets, including Phoenix and Atlanta, by Dec. 31, laying off about 17 percent of its domestic work force. Circuit City also said it will further reduce new store openings and plans to work with landlords to renegotiate leases, lower rent or terminate agreements.

Three of the stores to be closed are in Colorado.

The move comes as Circuit City heads into a crucial holiday shopping season that could determine its future, amid a slowdown in consumer spending that has even the least vulnerable retailers worried.

 

Awwww. Thanks for the invite.. Maybe one of these years i'll get to do that...

 

I work for Ann Taylor Stores Corporation and wanted to assure you that Ann Taylor is a financially strong Company with a healthy balance sheet. We already communicated early this year that we are closing a number of stores through 2010, but we continue to open new stores and have close to 1,000 stores in our fleet. Ann Taylor and LOFT Gift Cards are a great idea for gifting this holiday, and they can be redeemed at any of our stores or online. Although the source of this viral email is questionable, we felt we should clarify the misleading information because we want our clients to always feel confident in their Ann Taylor purchases.