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By now, just about everyone has watched one or more local stores close their doors for good. Lowe’s, a hardware and home improvement store that has been around for 72 years, is closing around 50 of their locations just after Christmas. They’re the most recent victim of the retail apocalypse. Thousands of brick and mortar stores closed their doors this year as executives tried to staunch the bleeding in some companies and othersHere’ went bankrupt. Buyers are flocking to the internet to purchase their goods from companies with lower overhead (and thus lower prices.) And the economy, despite claims of...

More than 3,000 employees in 36 states will be laid off in the liquidation of one of the world’s largest Christian retailers. More than two years ago, suppliers forgave Family Christian Stores $127 million in debt so that it could remain open. Today, the chain—which bills itself as “the world’s largest retailer of Christian-themed merchandise”—announced it is closing all of its stores after 85 years in business. Family Christian, which employed more than 3,000 people in more than 240 stores across 36 states, blamed “changing consumer behavior and declining sales.” “We had two very difficult years post-bankruptcy,” stated president Chuck...

More than 300 Chicago-area jobs will be lost when electronics retailer TigerDirect closes all but three of its 34 stores, including four Chicago-area locations and a distribution center. About 40 employees at each location will be cut, a spokeswoman said. Stores in Orland Park, Hoffman Estates, Naperville and Vernon Hills are among those closing. According to the latest Illinois Warn report, layoffs will occur at the retail locations May 9. A distribution center adjacent to the Naperville store will also be shuttered, with 172 workers scheduled to be laid off June 8.

Owner: Dwindling sales kill Frank Music Company NEW YORK (CNNMoney) —Even the home to Carnegie Hall and the New York Philharmonic isn't immune to the realities of the digital age of music. Frank Music Company, New York City's last remaining store dedicated to selling classical sheet music, closed on Friday. Frank's customers, a community of artists dedicated to playing music written with quills centuries ago, must now buy them online or download PDFs.The store's owner, Heidi Rogers, said dwindling sales killed the shop."Musicians are underpaid," she said. "How can they buy music if they're not getting paid enough?"Why would a...

<p>The women’s clothing retailer failed to find a buyer or new capital. A liquidation sale is planned.</p> <p>Women’s specialty clothing chain Coldwater Creek filed for bankruptcy on Friday and said it will close all of its stores around the country, including 11 in Minnesota.</p>

Dismal holiday season leads retailers to shutter stores Zale, Liz Claiborne and Pacific Sunwear are among the companies planning closures. Quiksilver may sell another division. By Leslie Earnest, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer January 18, 2008 Taking stock of a rough holiday season, retailers are shuttering stores and trimming expansion plans as they stare down edgy consumers. Industry analysts said Thursday that there was little mystery behind the plans announced by several chains this month. "We're in poor economic times, and when you're in poor economic times, retailers close stores" and reduce the number they plan to open, said Eric...