I have warned you, I have warned you. It is here and it is going to get much, much worse. Have you been putting things away for a rainy day as I told you?
Dr. James P. Wickstrom
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 240 stores during the three months ending January 31, for a total of 350 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 abankruptcy. Shares have plunged from $10 to under a dollar a share since 2005. More Here...
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 240 stores during the three months ending January 31, for a total of 350 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 abankruptcy. Shares have plunged from $10 to under a dollar a share since 2005. More Here...
