HEILIG-MEYERS CLOSING REMAINING 375 STORES

Heilig-Meyers Co., which specializes in home furnishings, will close its remaining 375 stores, which includes stores in Cape Girardeau, Paducah, Ky., and Carbondale, Ill.

The local store does not have all the details on closures, said manager Bill Argo, but, Anita M. Hill, a Heilig-Meyers spokeswoman, said Thursday, that "close-out" sales could start by the end of this month, with stores closing by mid-to-late summer.

As many as 3,750 jobs will be lost. The Cape Girardeau store employs six workers.

The Cape Girardeau Store opened during the Christmas shopping season of 1992 in a 25,000-square-foot space at 210 Silver Springs Road.

There are eight Heilig-Meyers stores in the St. Louis area.

Bankruptcy filing

Heilig-Meyers filed for bankruptcy in August, and since then, more than 400 stores have closed, leaving the remaining 375. Most stores employed eight to 12 workers.

Heilig-Meyers filed a motion with the Bankruptcy Court of Western Virginia, at Richland, Va., Wednesday of its intentions to close all of its stores.

Some stores have become RoomStores, which sell furniture, lamps, artwork and other items to decorate complete rooms. This includes 54 stores.

Following extensive reviews of Heilig-Meyers operations, it has been determined that the RoomStore format will be the centerpiece of ongoing reorganization efforts, according to president and chef executive officer, Donald S. Shaffer.

RoomStores have been concentrated in metropolitan markets in Texas, Maryland and Washington D.C. The company will maintain regional offices in Dallas, Texas, and Landover, Md. Heilig-Meyers is headquartered at Richmond.

Heilig-Meyers at one time was recognized as the nation's largest publicly held home-furnishings retailer with almost 800 stores by mid-2000. It was started modestly in 1913 with one store in Goldsboro, N.C., by two Lithuanian immigrants: W.A. Heilig and H.M. Meyers.

The firm was incorporated in 1940 and added another 40 stores over the next three decades. It wasn't until the mid-1980s that expansion led to more than 390 stores in 15 states.