Aug 15, 2002 By Steve Ferris 4 min read

A year after seeking bankruptcy court protection from its creditors, Ames Department Stores Inc. announced Wednesday that it will close all of its 327 stores in about 10 weeks. Among those losing their jobs will be 185 workers at four area Ames stores in Uniontown, Dunbar Township, Waynesburg and Mount Pleasant.

It was a “wrenching decision, but the right course to take” said Joseph R. Ettore, chairman and CEO of the Rocky Hill, Conn.-based retailer. “Continued softness in sales, combined with tightening terms and slower shipments from our suppliers, have reduced our funds availability below critical levels.”

The Waynesburg store had the most workers among local outlets with 32 part-timers and 20 full-time employees. Dunbar Township was next with 22 full-time and 24 part-time workers, followed by Uniontown with 27 full-time and 18 part-time employees. The Mount Pleasant store has 23 full-time and 19 part-time workers.

Several shoppers who stopped at the Fayette Plaza store in North Union Township on Wednesday said they had not yet heard that the store and the chain were going out of business.

Some said they were not surprised because the store never seemed very busy, but Katherine Mischisen of Uniontown was surprised.

“Where are we supposed to go now,” she said. “Am I going to be disappointed? Yes.”

Mischisen said she primarily shops there on Tuesdays when Ames offers 10 percent discounts to people 55 and older. She said she and her husband have to be thrifty because they live on Social Security benefits.

The company said that subject to the approval of the bankruptcy court, the company expects to promptly designate a liquidator to conduct “Going Out of Business” sales at all Ames locations, beginning Sunday. Stores are expected to be open for about 10 weeks during the process, according to the company.

Business analysts said regional discount department store chains like Ames have been hit hard by the growth of national chains such as Wal-Mart and Target.

Ames employs 21,500 people in its stores, which are spread across 15 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia. About 420 jobs were terminated Wednesday, according to information on the company’s Web site. Only employees needed for the liquidation will remain on the job until the stores close.

The company said Wednesday that headquarters and distribution centers will start to shut down immediately. Employees who were terminated Wednesday will be mailed their final paychecks today, the company said. Employees can use their discounts until Saturday.

Employees were not permitted to discuss the bankruptcy inside their stores, and management personnel referred all questions to a corporate spokesman.

A 22-year employee at the Fayette Plaza location, who did not wish to be identified during a late morning break outside of the store Wednesday, said she was told about the closing that morning. She said she was still trying to deal with the announcement.

“It’s a very unfortunate thing. This is the second time we went through this,” noting that she worked there when it was a Hills department store.

Ames purchased all 155 Hills Co. stores in December 1998, the 392-store Zayre discount chain in 1988 and Pennsylvania’s G.C. Murphy Co. in 1985.

Ames was founded in 1958 in Southbridge, Mass. It has annual sales of about $2.7 billion.

It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from its creditors to reorganize the chain in April 1990 when it had 680 stores in 20 states and the District of Columbia.

The company filed for bankruptcy again last August, when it had 452 stores. It closed more than a quarter of those stores, including one in Belle Vernon.

Ames said it will try to find buyers for its stores and distribution centers. Store fixtures, equipment and owned real estate will also be put up for sale.

“Our associates and managers have worked long and hard, trying to restore the viability of Ames. But despite those efforts, and the efforts of management to control costs and restructure our operations, the difficult environment for discount retailing and the continued slowness in the economy have made it impossible for us to deliver the sales volume we need to meet our obligations,’ said Ettore.

“I want to thank our associates for their hard work during this last trying year and thank our loyal customers for the continued support they have shown our company.”