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The worst seems to be over, but retailing is still a tough business. These companies closed a lot of stores in 2009, and are likely to be closing more this year.
Sources: The companies (spokespeople and websites), Davidowitz & Associates, About.com
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Ritz Camera
2009 Store closures: 365
Outlook: Almost half the company's stores have shut down following a bankruptcy last year. The company has since been bought by private investors who continue to operate 375 stores as Ritz Camera & Imaging.
See the full list of Who's Closing Stores In 2010?
Waldenbooks/Borders
2009 Store closures: 110 (Q4 2008 to Q3 2009)
Outook: Amazon.com continues to wreak havoc on traditional booksellers. The Borders unit says it will close an estimated 200 stores during the three months ending January 31, for a total of roughly 300 Waldenbooks stores over the past 13 months, close to 70 percent of all outlets. Retail analysts at Davidowitz & Associates give Borders Group, plagued with losses three years running, a 50-50 chance of survival.
Blockbuster
2009 store closures: 300
Outlook: Part of a two-year plan to close 960 stores, about 13 percent of Blockbuster's 7,100 locations in the Americas. The company is trying to reformulate with kiosks and on-demand services that focus on hot new releases, but experts say the costs associated with the transformation will be too expensive to pull off without a bankruptcy. Shares have plunged from $10 to under a dollar a share since 2005.
Zale Corp.
Fiscal 2009 Store closures: 218
Outlook: Jewelry has been hit very hard by the recession, with an estimated 2,000 stores closing last year throughout the industry. No official word on additional closings in 2010.
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Jones Apparel Group
2009 Store closures: 69
Outlook: The company plans another 196 closures this year for a two-year total of 265. But with a rising shoe business and numerous off-mall outlet locations, the company figures to continue its recovery from the stock price plunge of late-2008 to mid-2009.
Starbucks
2009 Store closures: 566 (fiscal 2009, 12 months ended Sept. 27)
Outlook: Last year's cuts were part of plan to close 800 stores over two years, or about 10% of the total. Starbucks is ridding itself of excess and is poised to face an economic recovery with a stronger balance sheet.
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KB Toys
2009 Store closures: 461
Outlook: Poor. Another mall-based Wal-Mart. Around since 1922, the company filed for bankruptcy in December 2008. It just stopped honoring gift cards this month.
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See the full list of Who's Closing Stores In 2010?
