It is the Economy...and Consumers...and Retailers

My cousin-in-law sent the following information to our family website. It is the economy all the way around. The United States is a consumer-nation. We don't produce anything. The stimulus checks that were sent out didn't stimulate the economy. How could it when Wal*Mart was promising people they coud cash them for free and then spend them on their Chinese-made goods? We are in Biblical times, it is like the years when famine hit and Joseph wisely stored up grain (remember the fat cows that ate the skinny cows, well the nation under President Bush is in the skinny cows!).

STORE CLOSINGS AND LAYOFFS
If you have gift cards, hurry up and use them!!
Just passing this along - FYI
Ann Taylor closing 117 stores nationwide A company spokeswoman said thecompany hasn't revealed which stores will be shuttered. It will let thestores 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 plansto close up to two more outlet stores by the end of the year.

Cache closing storesWomen's retailer Cache announced that it is closing 20 to 23 stores thisyear.

Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug, Catherines closing 150 stores nationwide The owner of retailers Lane Bryant , Fashion Bug , Catherines Plus Sizeswill close about 150 underperforming stores this year.The company hasn't provided a list of specific store closures and can'tsay 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 78of 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 occurthis 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 BananaRepublic . The company said the closures - all planned for fiscal 2008 -will be weighted toward the Gap brand.

Foot Locker to close 140 storesIn 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 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, whichis going out of business. Levitz first announced it was going out ofbusiness and closing all 76 of its stores in December. The retailer dates back to 1910 when Richard Levitz opened his first furniture storein Lebanon, PA. In the 1960s, the warehouse/showroom concept broughtLevitz 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 July 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. WaltDisney 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 theirclosing sign) ATLANTA - Nearly 7+ months after its chief executive said there were no plans to cut the number of its core retail stores, TheHome 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 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 extendedwarranties purchased for products through CompUSA will be honored by athird-party provider, Assurant Solutions. Gift cards, rain checks, andrebates purchased prior to December 12 can be redeemed at any timeduring the final sale. For those who have a gadget currently in for service with CompUSA, the repair will be completed and the gadget willbe returned to owners.http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9834177-7html<https://mclmail.saic.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9834177-7html><http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9834177-7.html<https://mclmail.saic.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9834177-7.html> >

Macy's - 9 stores

Movie Gallery - 160 stores as part of reorganization plan to exit bankruptcy. The video rental company plans to close 400 of 3,500 MovieGallery and Hollywood Video stores in addition to the 520 locations thevideo 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 workforce (following the 5,000 layoffs last year) and 8% of company-owned brick-and-mortar stores, while remaining mute on other rumors that itwill 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 are scaling back

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

Wilsons the Leather Experts - 158 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 closed last May.

Sharper Image: The company recently filed for bankruptcy protection andannounced that 90 of its 184 stores are closing. The retailer will stilloperate 94 stores to pay off debts, but 90 of these stores haveperformed poorly and also may close.

Bombay Company: (Freehold Mall store closed) 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 UnitedStates as part of its bankruptcy reorganization. To see the list ofstore 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 underperformingstores, 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.

THANK YOU MR. BUSH AND THE ENTIRE REPUBLICAN PARTY. WE ALL HOPE THE 16TRILLION DOLLARS SPEND IN IRAQ WAS WORTH IT! OUR ENEMYS SUPPORT YOUREFFORTS...

Warner "Ace" Aldridge, JrCo-Host of the Praise Mix Down on 100.3 The Beat8101 Appleton DriveSt. Louis, Mo 63130314-713-9678www.100.3thebeat.com/pages/Praisemixdown.html www.myspace.com/lethimuseya"The farmer plants seed by taking God's Word to others,"-Mark 4:14

There is nothing else to say.