Who's Going To Be Left For Holiday Shoppers To Go To?
I received a Gift Card email today making the rounds with a list of merchants that are closing up their business or downsizing store locations due to the downturn in the economy and lack of consumer spending. Some of them I knew like Circuit City and Linens N Things which is already gone, I think. It is closed over in Levittown, but I thought KB Toys survived their issues last year?
I am sorta happy to see a auto competitor downsizing, Pep Boys put a dent in our repair shop when it opened up the street from us but I'll have to see if the local facility is on the list of doom. They already closed another one a year ago that's a Panera & steakhouse now. Looking at this list again I have to wonder how many Gift Cards are going to be worthless in a few days/weeks. That was the subject title for the email, it was meant to warn consumers to use them if they got them and not buy any more if the merchant is closing.
Some of the retailers are MA Partners which is unfortunate, the whole situation is unfortunate, but I did like Circuit City and ordered online from them several times then picked up my items at the store in my neighborhood. Now I'll only be able to do that at BestBuy which is at a busy shopping mall that I don't like to go to that much because the crowd that goes there doesn't care if they bang into your vehicle with the small parking spots.
Gotta be a smart shopper this holiday season! There will be some interesting "going out of business" sales and some bargains from the retailers trying to entice consumers and get some cashflow for merchandise they ordered before the economic meltdown. And its not over yet!! Today I read on Yahoo that Steve & Barry's is closing up too, the buyout to save them from bankruptcy earlier this summer didn't work and the new owner has to close the doors. I really have to get over there and see if the Bitten by Sarah Jessica Parker suit with silver threading is still available. They were always good for sweatshirts and pullovers at a great price, under $10.
We'll see what happens next week with Black Friday's sales & again on CyberMonday. I heard that the Sears sales were leaked out and they will be discounting their appliances for the first time with steep markdowns, half price on some models. Its going to be a crazy holiday shopping season for 2008!! OMG........what about the clearance sales after Christmas AND into January!! Getting the word out to MA's Preferred Customer base about maRewards for their purchases is an excellent incentive for the general public to catch onto so they earn free stuff and do the comparison search or get HotDeals without any extra effort.
Astrologically, Pluto (symbol for transformation) will move into the sign of Capricorn (symbol for big business/economy) on November 26th, so change will happen at the deepest core and on many levels and bandaid bailouts won't be the answer. I'm praying that MA has some hand in bringing forth some of that change in the form of hope & a new type of prosperity.
Here's the email listing: (I did not verify this list so please check their website or call a local store) ==>SEE SNOPES LINK!<==
Subject: FW: Think twice about Gift Cards
It seems there are lots of stores that are closing due to the "recession" and the fact that people are not shopping.
Below are stores that informed the Security Exchange of closing plans between October 2008 and January 2009. PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
If you have any "gift cards" from these stores, make sure you use them, or you will lose them!
Watch those store money cards, gift cards... and credit slips!
Circuit City stores
Ann Taylor- 117 stores nationwide are to be shuttered
Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherine's to close 150 store nationwide
Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more after January
Cache will close all stores
Talbots closing down all stores
J. Jill closing all stores
GAP closing 85 stores
Footlocker closing 140 stores more to close after January
Wickes Furniture closing down
Levitz closing down remaining stores (done already)
Bombay closing remaining stores
Zales closing down 82 stores and 105 after January.
Whitehall closing all stores
Piercing Pagoda closing all stores
Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January.
Home Depot closing 15 stores 1 in NJ (New Brunswick)
Macys to close 9 stores after January
Linens and Things closing all stores
Movie Galley Closing all stores
Pacific Sunware closing stores
Pep Boys Closing 33 stores
Sprint/Nextel closing 133 stores
JC Penney closing a number of stores after January
Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores.
Wilson Leather closing down all stores
Sharper Image closing down all stores (didn't they do that last year?)
K B Toys closing 356 stores (check snopes link)
Loews to close down some stores
Dillard's to close some stores.
I went to snopes after writing this post, go see the updated and confirmed information on this at: http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/storeclosings.asp
It seems there are lots of stores that are closing due to the "recession" and the fact that people are not shopping.
Below are stores that informed the Security Exchange of closing plans between October 2008 and January 2009. PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO ALL YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
If you have any "gift cards" from these stores, make sure you use them, or you will lose them!
Watch those store money cards, gift cards... and credit slips!
Circuit City stores
Ann Taylor- 117 stores nationwide are to be shuttered
Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherine's to close 150 store nationwide
Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more after January
Cache will close all stores
Talbots closing down all stores
J. Jill closing all stores
GAP closing 85 stores
Footlocker closing 140 stores more to close after January
Wickes Furniture closing down
Levitz closing down remaining stores (done already)
Bombay closing remaining stores
Zales closing down 82 stores and 105 after January.
Whitehall closing all stores
Piercing Pagoda closing all stores
Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January.
Home Depot closing 15 stores 1 in NJ (New Brunswick)
Macys to close 9 stores after January
Linens and Things closing all stores
Movie Galley Closing all stores
Pacific Sunware closing stores
Pep Boys Closing 33 stores
Sprint/Nextel closing 133 stores
JC Penney closing a number of stores after January
Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores.
Wilson Leather closing down all stores
Sharper Image closing down all stores (didn't they do that last year?)
K B Toys closing 356 stores (check snopes link)
Loews to close down some stores
Dillard's to close some stores.
I went to snopes after writing this post, go see the updated and confirmed information on this at: http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/storeclosings.asp
UPDATE 11/20:
Here's a related article from the NY Daily News Bargains R Yours
Posted by Lisa Moffa at 11/19/2008 4:50 PM 
Categories: Partner Store Info, Personal Thoughts, Info and News
Categories: Partner Store Info, Personal Thoughts, Info and News
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