[Falconoffury]

Great story, Maestroe. It explains why all the women you see on CNBC are hot, and not the equivalent age and looks of the men on that channel.

[Novus]

That story should be published in the newspapers and magazines. Maybe then the people would get a clue as to what the bankers are up to.

[IgnoranceIsBliss]

Charliebrownout, that list is way more than I expected!
Lots of "yuppie" stores. AnnTaylor had nice clothes, but really high prices. They have a cheaper store concept called Ann Taylor LOFT.
I hope that one stays around.

I really wonder what will become of these empty store spaces? (and entire malls) Will they just stand like dark ghost towns until they crumble? Kinda freaky...

I really don't see them leasing up again. Maybe the market for used clothes will explode soon.

[eXpat]

Struggling Mervyns to Close Its Doors
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'M')ervyns, the California-based department store that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July, announced Friday that it planned to hold going-out-of-business sales at its remaining 149 locations.

The move comes after Linens ’n Things, the home goods retailer that filed for bankruptcy protection in the spring, announced on Tuesday its own plans to liquidate.

The collapse of the chains comes after a dismal back-to-school shopping season — generally the most important time of the year for retailers next to Christmas — that has left the retail industry reeling. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that retail sales sank 1.2 percent last month.

Unable to return Mervyns to profitability, company executives, along with the board, decided that going-out-of-business sales during Christmas would be the best way to drive traffic to the stores and pay creditors.

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', 'D')on't worry, those things will trickle down from the wealthy!

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Falconoffury', 'G')reat story, Maestroe. It explains why all the women you see on CNBC are hot, and not the equivalent age and looks of the men on that channel.

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('gollum', 'T')his year we will sure buy the kids some toys, maybe a play station or x box

[Keith_McClary]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('maestroe', 's')pray paint gave me power. HA HA HA HA.

[Zardoz]

Hard to imagine the chain stores listed in the story below being gone. They've been fixtures out here for as long as I can remember.

Even harder to imagine is how some TV talking heads still have the nerve to say things like "we may be moving toward a recession". What planet do those doofuses come from? How many drugs are they on?

Mervyns to liquidate remaining stores

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')fter 59 years in business, the Mervyns department-store chain called it quits Friday -- promising a huge going-out-of-business sale just in time for the holidays.

And there is plenty of competition for a close-out Christmas. Linens 'n Things Inc. began a liquidation sale Friday, and Shoe Pavilion Inc. starts one this weekend, according to firms that said they were hired to liquidate the stores.

Already gone are the novelty retailer Sharper Image Corp., Wickes Furniture and Levitz Furniture, and retail experts say more closings loom.

"This is unprecedented, really, the number of stores that are going to be closing," said Daniel Kane, principal of Tiger Capital Group, one of several firms hired to liquidate Linens 'n Things and Shoe Pavilion. "There's going to be a tremendous amount of bargains out there."

[skeptik]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Arsenal', 'T')hat is the most sickening display of excessive human consumption I have seen in a while.

[skeptik]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', 'D')id you know, many CEO's suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder!

[outcast]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('seahorse2', 'I')nteresting that Pepsi announces massive job layoffs one day after the market surges 11%. Only shows the market is no indicator of the real world and that these "bailouts" are doing nothing to solve the real problems. Debt problems are not made better by going into debt. Now, add this to the Pepsi story, a good friend of mine, a Pepsi exec, confirmed that Pepsi will not be paying their usual end of the year bonuses to their execs. Now, I'm sure the people at the very top like the CEOs will get their bonuses, but this fairly high exec I know won't be getting his. All this to say, the markets are divorced from any kind of reality out there.

[outcast]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'I')'m all for rewarding people who succeed, but some of these salaries are out of line. I like to compare it to doctors. My friend is currently finishing medical school to become a doctor and God knows how much money it'll all cost in the end. She'll have a very good job making excellent money, but its chump change compared to what some of these guys make. Same can be said for dentists and engineers. These people are the ones that really deserve a lot of money, not these leaches.

[Daniel_Plainview]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('skeptik', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('vision-master', 'D')id you know, many CEO's suffer from Attention Deficit Disorder!

[catbox]

I'm guess I'm still amazed that the business I work for is doing so well. We just keep getting busier.We have around 35 employees now and need to bring in a few more just to keep our ship tight.

The one thing that is on our side, and I see it with how many repeat customers we have online, is that most of our customers are made up of skateboarders, surfers, and snowboarders. These are activities that once people get into becomes a lifestyle...down to the clothes they wear...the sport becomes who they are and in many cases have been since they were kids. Not to mention, many of our customers, after speaking with them, have grown up in the sports I mentioned and have kids who are following in their footsteps. On top of that, surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding is not like other sports where once you leave high school, you don't do it anymore....most people I know just keep on riding. A unique bunch we are!

I think our owners are smart, we grew slow, we only have one store,
and a nice big warehouse 1 block from our store and offices. Among the 200 or so packages we ship a day, and that will double come November, we also ship world-wide....International orders have been huge in size the last 2 years!

I can see us surviving for quite some time, even if it does mean scaling back if need be.

catbox

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('catbox', 'I')'m guess I'm still amazed that the business I work for is doing so well. We just keep getting busier.We have around 35 employees now and need to bring in a few more just to keep our ship tight.
The one thing that is on our side, and I see it with how many repeat customers we have online, is that most of our customers are made up of skateboarders, surfers, and snowboarders. These are activities that once people get into becomes a lifestyle...down to the clothes they wear...the sport becomes who they are and in many cases have been since they were kids. Not to mention, many of our customers, after speaking with them, have grown up in the sports I mentioned and have kids who are following in their footsteps. On top of that, surfing, skateboarding, and snowboarding is not like other sports where once you leave high school, you don't do it anymore....most people I know just keep on riding. A unique bunch we are!
I think our owners are smart, we grew slow, we only have one store, and a nice big warehouse 1 block from our store and offices. Among the 200 or so packages we ship a day, and that will double come November, we also ship world-wide....International orders have been huge in size the last 2 years!
I can see us surviving for quite some time, even if it does mean scaling back if need be.

[mrbig]

I went to the mall today... in sweden.

Gotta say buisness as usual... credit cards being used like never before. Not a sign of a slowdown in anyway.

[Gorm]

Are you sure that was credit cards? Few to none of those I know use credit card. Everybody has a VISA-card, and many uses them a lot but typically as debit cards.

[ReverseEngineer]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Zardoz', 'E')ven harder to imagine is how some TV talking heads still have the nerve to say things like "we may be moving toward a recession". What planet do those doofuses come from? How many drugs are they on?

[AlexdeLarge]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Keith_McClary', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', 'D')on't worry, those things will trickle down from the wealthy!