If you haven't already heard, a lot of retail businesses will be closing by the first of the year. Some companies are going completely out of business. A lot of retailers are closing poor performing stores, or stores in more economically depressed areas throughout the country.
I have compiled a list of currently known chains that have announced that they will be going out of business and/or closing stores by the first of the year. This list will probably get bigger by the end of the year because some retailers are waiting to see how they do with holiday sales before making a decision to close.
The good news is that you can probably get some really good deals at the stores and/or chains that are closing.
The bad news is that you should probably reconsider purchasing gift cards for Christmas this year. And, if you currently have gift cards, it would probably be a good idea to use them as soon as possible.
Personally, I plan to use all of the gift cards that I have, regardless of the company that they are with, before the end of the year.
Going Out of Business/Bankruptcy
Friedman’s Jewelers
Goodbye Levitz
KB Toys
Linens and Things
Pep Boys
Sharper Image
Value City Discount Department Stores
Wickes Furniture
Store Closures
84 Lumber
Ann Taylor
Ann Taylor LOFT
Banana Republic
Bombay Company – (1 physical store & all online sales)
Cache
Catherines
Catherines Plus Sizes
Children’s Place
Dell
Dillard’s
Disney Stores
Eddie Bauer
Ethan Allan
Fashion Bug
Foot Locker
Gordon’s Jewelers
Home Depot
It’s Gotta Go
J. Jill
J.C. Penney
Kirklands
Lane Bryant
LOFT
LOFT Outlet Stores
Lonestar Steakhouse
Lowes
Macy’s
Mappins Jewelers
Movie Gallery
Office Depot
Old Navy
PacSun
People’s Jewelers
Pier 1 Imports
Piercing Pagoda
Rite Aid – (28 stores in
Saks – (1 store in
Sprint Nextel Corp
Starbucks
Steve and Barry’s
Talbots
The Charming Shoppes
Urban Interiors
Zales Jewelers
Zales Outlet
If you do get stuck with a gift card that you can’t use because the stores in your area have closed, you may not have a total loss. You may be able to sell or trade your unusable gift cards on eBay, Cardavenue, Gift Card Buy Back, Plastic Jungle or Swapagift.com. Be prepared to get less than the balance available with your sale or trade though. Or you may be able to get the full value of the card by using it for an online purchase with the company that issued it.
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1 comment:
FYI- This has been a rough year for retailers but simply stating that a retailer is in trouble and at risk for closure because they close stores is incorrect. Retailers close stores every year. The number you should be looking at is how many stores are they opening. Of course this year it will be less but it doesn't mean they are going out of business. This is the very thing that makes it difficult for retailers and others to recover from these tough times. Please be cautious but know that most of the retailers in your stores closing list will recover and will live to open and close more stores next year and the year after.
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