NATIONWIDE STORE CLOSINGS

[Guest guest]

Guess we had better be very careful of gift certificates

this Christmas. Just in case you have them, use those

Gift Certificates or you may lose them. STORE CLOSINGS AND LAYOFFS Linen's and Things

Ann 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 alreadyclosed 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 , Fashion Bug, 's closing 150 storesnationwide. The owner of retailers Lane , Fashion Bug ,

's Plus Sizes will close about 150 under performingstores this year. The company hasn't provided a list of specificstore closures and can't say when it will offer that info,spokeswoman said today.

Talbots, J. Jill closing stores. About a month ago, Talbot'sannounced that it will be shuttering all 78 of its kids and men'sstores. Now the company says it will close another 22 underperforming stores.. The 22 stores will be a mix of Talbot'swomen's and J. Jill , another chain it owns. The closures willoccur 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 outof business and closing all of its stores, Wickes, a 37-year-oldretailer that targets middle-income customers, filed forbankruptcy protection last month. Goodbye Levitz / BOMBAY - closed already. The furnitureretailer, 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 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 andPiercing Pagoda previously said it plans to close 82 stores byJuly 31. Today, it announced that it is closing another 23 underperforming stores. The company said it's not providing a list ofspecific 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. Comp USA (CLOSED) clarifies details on store closings. Any extended

warranties purchased for products through Comp USA 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

Comp USA, 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 toexit 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. 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-m ortar stores, while

remaining mute on other rumors that it will consolidate its headquarters in Kansa.

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 Interiors: The company announced plans to close 12 of 300+ stores in an effort to cut costs. s the Leather Experts - 158 stores Pacific Sunwear will close its 154 Demo stores after a review ofstrategic alternatives for the urban-apparel brand. Seventy-fourunder performing Demo stores closed last May. Sharper Image: The company recently filed for bankruptcyprotection 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 companyunveiled 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 Dillard II said the company

will close another six under performing stores this year. I would like to add some additional information to

this e-mail I received, and am passing along as an FYI.

Check out buying gift certificates at your nearby mall. It appears that American Express is underwriting many of themalls' gift certificates, and you use them just as you would acredit card, like American Express. Additionally, they willreplace, if misplaced, etc, so long as you have the certificatenumber. (log that somewhere safe, apart from the card) Another benefit is: the gift card can be used in various malls,

in and around the state, as well as nearby states, and nationwide.As an example, I purchased mine at Swansea Mall in Swansea Mass,and it could be used at the Taunton Galleria, (Taunton, Mass)

Providence Place Mall, (Providence, RI) as well as other places,

Fl, Pa, etc.