Open and Shut

Dillard's (Little Rock, Ark.), A&P (Montvale, N.J.) and Ames Department Stores (Rocky Hill, Conn.) all announced strategic closings of existing stores.

Dillard's will close the last of downtown Cleveland's department stores in January because, it says, the number of customers isn't enough to keep it open. The store was opened in 1860 by the Higbee Co., and has been a Dillard's since 1992. The 12-floor building, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's at the heart of downtown's Public Square.

Cleveland's downtown has been revitalized over the last several years with the additions of new baseball and football stadiums, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Tower City Center, a shopping district of more than 120 stores to which Dillard's is linked.

“Cleveland has done a great job revitalizing the downtown area, but unfortunately it hasn't converted into a thriving retail environment,''said Mark Gastman, a vp at the 337-store retailer. “When people go to a football or baseball game or go out to dinner, they're not shopping afterwards.''

Forest City Enterprises Inc., owner of the building, said it is talking to other department stores and specialty retailers about moving into the site. Five other major department stores have closed in downtown Cleveland in the last 30 years. William Taylor Son and Co., Sterling-Linder Co. and Bailey Co. were downtown retail staples during the late-1800s and early 1900s, but all three were closed by 1968. Halle's department store closed in 1982 at the age of 100. And the May Co., which opened in 1899, left downtown in 1993. In the mid-1990s, Dillard's itself cut back from 10 floors of merchandise to four.

For Ames, the closing of 16 stores in early 2002 is part of the retailer's attempt to reorganize and emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

“In today's economic climate, we need our operations to be capable of making it through tough times,''said chairman and ceo Joseph Ettore. “In reviewing our operations, these stores have become candidates for closure.''

The stores in question include five in Chicago that have been open for less than a year. The closings will take Ames entirely out of the Midwestern and Southern-Midwestern states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.

And A&P says its closing of 39 underperforming stores is part of a program to improve operating results by disposing of underperforming assets.

“This action completes an important phase of our turnaround program,” said chairman, president and ceo Christian Haub, “and will significantly improve earnings and reduce debt. The program we announced today underlines our commitment to take the actions necessary to position our Company for breakthrough performance in the months and years ahead.”

The 142-year-old company, once the largest retailer in the U.S., is still one of North America's 10 largest, operating 743 A&P, Waldbaum's, Food Emporium, Super Foodmart, Super Fresh, Farmer Jack, Sav-A-Center, Dominion, The Barn Markets, Food Basics and Ultra Food & Drug stores in 15 states, the District of Columbia and Ontario, Canada.

On a positive note, Sears Roebuck (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) has announced it will open two new test-format electronic stores in the Chicago-area suburbs of Bolingbrook and Mt. Prospect. The 20,000-square-foot Sears Appliances and Electronics is part of the retailer's attempt to build on its home-goods strengths, according to Lyle Heidemann, president of hardlines. “Our appliance customer tells us that she wants more shopping convenience, so we're testing this format as a way to grow these categories by presenting them in off-mall, neighborhood locations.”