gift cards

[Y2Kviffer]

If you give gift cards out for Christmas, you may want to look at this list first.

Not on the list below is Linens & Things is under liquidation and closing all stores by year end.

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 nation wide 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 uderperforming 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 BananaRepublic . 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. Yhe 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 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'sPlace filed for bankruptcy protection in late March.. Walt Disney In the newsrelease 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 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.

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.

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 underperforming Demo stores closed last May.

Sharper Image: The company recently filed for bankruptcy protection and announced that 90 of its 184 tores 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.

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.

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[derstuka]

Yeah, I was looking at this the other day. Some local places are shutting down around me as well. The list doesn't mention that quite a few other companies are shutting down hundreds of stores, but still staying in business.

Thanks for the update boss!

[reg71]

I am so glad my job is not affected by retail sales... I have not had to change my lifestyle at all other than to figure on retiring later than I thought I could...

[drewl]

I had not thought of this. Gift cards are big in our family. Thanks for the info.

[VFRShorty]

Great info, thanks for sharing

Luckily Oregon isn't hit as hard as other states, so we are not seeing too many closures (at least around Portland).

[Y2Kviffer]

MORE BAD NEWS:

You've probably encountered the hassles of rebates: You wait months to get your money, or your rebate request is denied because you didn't follow the complicated rebate instructions to the letter. Or maybe you're among the large number of shoppers who don't bother to send them in.

Here's a new wrinkle in the rebate process: A company that processes rebates for several hundred companies has filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11.

Some of the clients of Continental Promotion Group Inc. are trying to make sure that rebate checks issued on their behalf are good, The Arizona Republic reported.

Clients include AT&T, Barnes and Noble, Bed Bath and Beyond, Costco, the Home Depot, Honeywell, Macy's Inc., Motorola and Toshiba, the article said.

An attorney working with CPG said the company would continue to process rebates and that they won't be rubber checks.

An article at Promo said CPG planned to borrow money from client companies to cover rebate checks.

"We are working with our clients to the extent possible to assist with the honoring of consumer rebate checks outstanding prior to the bankruptcy filing or providing alternate direction to consumers," the company said in a statement.

Some clients are taking precautions. For instance, the Arizona Republic story said Costco moved its rebate business to another company and will cover rebate checks issued by CPG and any bounced-check fees customers may incur.

If you're concerned about the status of your rebate, contact the manufacturer or the store where you purchased the item.

"You never contracted with the rebate company. You contracted with the manufacturer and the manufacturer owes you money," Gail Hillebrand of Consumers Union told CBS4.com, which added this good news: Some companies like Best Buy are doing away with mail-in rebates and will issue them when the customer pays in the checkout line.