Store Closings from 15 More Retailers

By  Christina Zarrello
Positive retail sales in January offered a welcome ray of relief for retailers struggling through a difficult winter. But the good news was tempered by many who felt the need to use store closings as a means of cutting costs or taking the more drastic step of filing for bankruptcy protection. The list of stores disappearing from a mall near you includes 15 big retail names like Home Depot, Fortunoff, Talbots, Chico's, Pier 1 and others.

Home Depot: The mega-retailer plans to close 48 stores. The company is closing 34 Expo Design Centers, five YardBIRDS, two Design Centers and HD Bath. Home Depot said its Expo home design business has not performed well financially and has weakened significantly during the economic downturn.

Starbucks: The coffee giant announced that it will close 300 more stores as the Seattle-based company struggles with falling sales and a negative outlook. Starbucks said first-quarter revenues were down 6 percent and same-store sales fell 9 percent. The company announced plans last July to close 600 U.S. stores and 61 in Australia. Of the 300 new closures, 200 will be in the United States.

Fortunoff: Eighty-five-year-old chain filed for Chapter 11 on February 5, 2009. The retailer closed its flagship location on 57th Street in Manhattan on February 3, 2009. "The jewelry and home goods businesses have been hit particularly hard by the economic downturn," said Fortunoff CEO Charles Chinni. It is the second bankruptcy filing by the company in a year after first filing in February 2008.

Phillips-Van Heusen: Parent company of Calvin Klein, Izod and Van Heusen clothing brands announced it will close 175 stores due to the recession. The retailer will stop domestic production of machine-made neckwear, reduce its warehouse capacity and cut travel, marketing and administrative expenses.

Talbots: Apparel chain will close 20 underperforming stores. Other cost cuts will target administration, marketing and operations expenses that will save the company about $33 million. The company says a 14 percent drop in revenue resulted in a $170 million loss in the third quarter ended November 3, 2009.

Pier 1 Imports: Furniture and home accessories retailer announced on February 3, 2009, a plan to close up to 125 stores, or about 10 percent of its store base. Pier One also is closing its 514,000-square-foot distribution center in St. Charles, Illinois.

Chico's FAS: Woman's apparel chain plans to shutter up to 25 stores in 2009 after reviewing its financial performance. Chico's FAS operates stores under the brand names Chico's, White House|Black Market and Soma Intimates.

Williams-Sonoma: Home goods retailer completed a cost reduction plan which resulted in the closure of its 38,000-square-foot call center and 500,000-square-foot distribution center in Memphis, Tennessee.

Bruno's Supermarkets: Supermarket chain filed for Chapter 11 on February 5, 2009 citing tightened credit markets and a tough selling environment. Bruno's Supermarkets, which operates 66 stores under Bruno's and Food World banners, will attempt to reorganize and has appointed Jim Grady, Senior Director at Alvarez & Marsal as its Chief Restructuring Officer. Grady replaces CEO Kent Moore, who resigned.

Brown Shoe: Shoe retailer announced on February 5, 2009 expense reduction initiatives which involves plans to close 25-30 Famous Footwear stores. Brown Shoe currently operates 1,100 Famous Footwear stores and 300 specialty retail stores under brands Naturalizer, Brown Shoe Closet, FX LaSalle, Franco Sarto and Via Spiga.

Illuminations: Yankee Candle announced that it will close its Illuminations unit which operated an e-commerce site and 28 bricks-and-mortar stores as part of its cost restructuring plan. The company expects to close the Illuminations stores by April 30, 2009. The Illuminations brand will continue to be a part of Yankee's product offerings and will be marketed mainly through Yankee's wholesale business.

S&K Famous Brands: Value priced men's apparel retailer filed for Chapter 11 on February 9, 2009 citing weak consumer spending and tight credit conditions. S&K posted a net loss of $3.93 million for its fiscal year ended February 2, 2008. S&K listed $41.4 million in assets and $35.5 million in liabilities in the filing. By the end of January 2009, the retailer had closed 79 stores, bringing the chain down to 136 stores.

Snyder's Drug Stores: Drugstore chain which first opened its doors in 1928 plans to close or sell 19 of its 47 corporate stores in Minnesota by mid-March 2009. Snyder's officials said the stores that will be closed or sold are underperforming.

Cost Plus: Specialty retailer plans to close 26 stores and exit eight regional markets. "We were disappointed with our holiday sales results and larger-than-anticipated markdowns resulting from the tough economic climate and exceptionally poor weather conditions in certain geographic areas," said Barry Feld, chief executive of Cost Plus.

Shane Company: Fine jewelry store chain filed for Chapter 11 on January 12, 2009. The operator of 23 jewelry stores listed assets and liabilities between $100 million and $500 million in its filing. The company was founded in 1971 and employs about 540 people. The company intends to continue operating business as normal.

For more up-to-date news on store closings and retail bankruptcies, see:

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