The CEO's of the "BIG Three" (Ford, Crystler and GM) land in Washington in their 20 million dollar private jets, each one in their own seperate jet, and then have the balls to ask the tax payers to support them! It is like a pan-handler begging for change then going around the corner and driving home in his new Lexus! When will we learn? The next set of hands will come begging after the new year begins. Thats when the credit card companies will cry poor mouth because too many will be unable to pay their cc bills after maxing them out paying bills and holiday shopping. Then what? We reward them with more tax payer dollars? The Airlines are watching closely and hoping the government will still have money when they come a calling. What really scares me is that someday in the not too distant future, the companies that have seen record profits while the financial world crumbles around them, "BIG OIL" will also show up and beg for money along with forgiveness! This list below is not all inclusive. The closings are still coming in, some more can be found left by readers in the comment section. This list also does not include the thousands, yes thousands, of small independent business that have also closed their doors! In order to fix the fix we are in, we must rethink our concept of prosperity and move towards parity.

 

STORE CLOSINGS AND LAYOFFS: By the end of Dec. 2008 as announced Circuit City Filed Bankruptcy, they promised to keep all stores open for the holiday season, but afterwards, they plan on closing 155 stores nationwide.

 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, and 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 future store closures - all planned in fiscal 2008 - will be. The company could not be immediately reached for comment.

 Wickes Furniture 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 closi! ng 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 Jul y 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’s Place filed for bankruptcy protection in late March. In the news release, Disney 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 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 US. 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 Closing 9 stores.

 Movie Gallery - 160 stores will close as part of a 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 closing 33 stores.

 Sprint Nextel closing 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 will be scaling back and cutting jobs.

 Ethan Allen Interiors - The company announced plans to close 12 of 300+ stores in an effort to cut costs.

 Wilson’s the Leather Experts closing all 260 mall 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 cl sed 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 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.

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.

 Starbucks closings: Starbucks will close approximately 600 company- operated stores in the U.S

. Pier 1 closings: Announced that they would be closing an undisclosed number of stores.

Kirklands Closings: A chain of home decor stores will be closing nearly 130 stores nationwide.

 Sprint closings: to cut 4500 jobs. and 125 stores.

Linens ‘n Things closings: Is closing 120 stores nationwide.

 Dell Inc. closed its 140 kiosks in the United States.

 Liz Claiborne, Inc. said it’s closing the entire 54-store Sigrid Olsen chain.

 Lone Star Steak House closings: 27 stores closing.

84 Lumber closings: 12 stores closing.

Rite Aid closings: 28 stores.

 Big Dollar closings: dollar stores closing 10 stores.

 Meryvns: closing 177 stores

 

Charming Shoppes (Lane Bryant and Fashion Bug) — 150 stores Check Into Cash (Ohio) - 32 stores Pacific Sunwear — 153 Demo stores Steve & Barry's - 65 stores Zales — 100 stores It is a sign of tough economic times. Retail store closings are up in 2008 by 25 percent year-over-year as the national economy continues to deteriorate. The International Council of Shopping Centers estimates there will be 5,770 store closings in 2009 compared to 4,603 in 2007. Surging gas prices, higher food costs and powerful inflationary forces are squeezing consumers and retailers alike. "There will be a considerable amount of store closings coming in 2008, and retailers with expansion plans are going to take a second look at openings," said Howard Davidowitz, chairman of the retail consulting firm Davidowitz & Associates in New York. Here is a list of retailers that have already announced store closings: For more information on retail bankruptcies see: Retail Bankruptcies and Store Closings Sign of Grim Economy This list is added to the list in the previous post.