Recently in restructuring and resizing Category

All 152 locations of InkStop closed Thursday night without notice. The closings are being called "temporary" and information about a restructuring is pending.

An internal memo from the board of directors reads, in part, "The company has elected to temporarily close all stores at the close of business today October 1, to focus on a restructuring plan in an effort to improve the overall operations of the organization. All employees are laid off until further notice."

Employees, who have gone without benefits for the past few weeks, were not informed in advance.

In a significant shift to a small but influential retailer, upscale women's store Henri Bendel will stop selling clothes this summer. Stores will focus on accessories and beauty products, which are the more profitable areas of the business.

Henri Bendel, which is owned by Limited Brands, is also giving up one floor of its handsome store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

Beleaguered auto manufacturer Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 bankrupty protection today in a move encouraged by the Obama administration. The bankruptcy filing is intended to rapidly clear Chrysler's debts and smoothe a path to a partial acquisition by Italian automaker Fiat.

Chrysler, which received billions of dollars from the United States government, then asked for more to stay afloat, is now conceding an inability to meet its obligations. Chrysler will idle its production lines for an extended period while the company restructures. In an interesting twist, the reorganized company will become majority owned by its employees via an independent trust controlled by the United Auto Workers union's healthcare fund. Fiat and the US government will own the rest.

No announcements have been made at this time regarding Chrysler's product lines or dealer network.

The fashion world, rocked by the sharp slowdown in retail sales the past six months, is now struggling to stay afloat. In-demand menswear designer Thom Browne is struggling to find a financial backer and battling a drop in retailers' orders for his $5,000 men's suits. The fashion house may have to file bankruptcy if backing is not found soon.

Meanwhile, mass marketeer Marc Ecko is refinancing hundreds of millions of dollars of debt. The lack of liquidity in the financial markets suggests Ecko may have to divest some of its business lines in order to meet the debt obligations.

This is intriguing: a number of malls nationwide are cutting hours, instead of closing stores. Barnes and Noble is changing hours across the country. "General Growth, which is trying to avoid filing for bankruptcy protection, is changing the hours at many of its malls across the country, including Baltimore-area locations White Marsh Mall, Owings Mills Mall, Towson Town Center, Mondawmin Mall and The Mall in Columbia. The malls will close a half-hour earlier Monday through Thursday and close an hour earlier Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, the malls will open an hour later."

Famed luxury goods purveyor Tiffany might look immune to the recession but actually they are in a world of trouble. "Net income fell to $31.1 million, or 25 cents per share, down from $127.4 million," for one thing; these costs are associated with store closing and with layoffs. So what's Tiffany's solution? More layoffs! "Tiffany plans to offer early retirement packages to 800 of its employees in the U.S., and cut 10% of its staff worldwide." Great plan.

The 129 Boater's World stores in 27 U.S. states are being shuttered. Parent company Ritz Camera Centers Inc. (who knew?) filed for bankruptcy protection last month, and is attempting to raise cash by liquidating the boat stores' inventory. The company will also close 400 of its 800 camera stores.

Ann Taylor is expanding its restructuring program and identified more store closings for 2009. The company--which is not restructuring under bankruptcy bylines--is closing an additional 37 stores in 2009, including 10 Ann Taylor and 37 Loft doors. The overall plan now includes 163 rather than 117 store closings.

New England retailer Better Bedding is closing more than half its stores as part of a bankruptcy restructuring. The company, which has 21 outlets, is shutting 11 of them and consolidating inventory. Better Bedding cited a 20 percent sales decline as part of the problem. The chain has been in business more than 30 years and is family-owned.

A pair of major American brands announced store closings last week that were hidden within press releases about layoffs:

• Phillips-Van Heusen is closing 175 stores over the next two to three years in a restructuring move. The company, whose brands include Calvin Klein and Bass, did not specify which stores or lines would be affected.
• Cardmaker American Greetings is closing 60 stores out of 415 nationwide. These are happening quickly; some are slated to close by the end of February. Financially, the company's credit rating just reached junk level, which is a bad sign for the long-term health of the chain overall.

Candle and gift retailer Yankee Candle is eliminating its Illuminations retail chain as part of a corporate restructuring. Illuminations, a candle and home decorating line, was purchased by Yankee Candle in 2006. The Illuminations brand name may continue in wholesale and catalog options.

Yankee Candle is also closing one additional store under the Yankee Candle name. Plans for new store openings are not affected.

The popular and successful B.R. Guest restaurant chain announced a series of closings as part of a restructuring effort (not, it should be noted, a bankruptcy). "In order to keep our business strong and competitive, we have no choice but to scale back and streamline our company," said president and founder Stephen Hanson.

In New York, B.R. Guest's hometown, the company closed Fiamma, Level V, and this writer's favorite, Ruby Foo's on the Upper West Side. Fiamma and Level V are being converted into event space and a new restaurant, respectively. Blue Water Grill in Chicago is also closing.

The New York Times' Diner's Journal Blog interviewed Fiamma chef Fabio Trabocchi after the announcement. Trabocchi reported sales declines of 25 to 30 percent since the start of the financial crisis.

Parcel delivery service DHL announced on Monday it is ending its domestic shipping business due to U.S. market conditions. The company, a division of Deutsche Post, is refocusing on international shipping, five years after purchasing competitor Airborne to increase its American footprint.

As much as this decision was influenced by current market conditions, it also underscores an old Jack Welch principle: if a business does not occupy the No. 1 or 2 position in the market, the business may not be viable. DHL (and Airborne) were distant competitors to FedEx and UPS.

Furniture maker La-Z-Boy is closing 15 to 20 stores, laying off employees and cutting back spending in "response to slumping sales." Store closings will occur between now and March. The company has no concerns about its long-term financial health.

Major pharmacy chains are making major moves as the economy shifts.

Walgreen is undergoing a substantial restructuring in order to trim costs. The Wall Street Journal reported last week plans for the chain to overhaul much of its business--suppliers, jobs, stores and pharmacies--to improve performance. Among other initiatives, it hopes to centralize prescription processing to aid its pharmacists and reduce expenses.

Meanwhile, CVS is launching its upscale beauty store concept, called Beauty 360, in Washington DC this week. The store-within-a-store includes premium and niche beauty brands and personal services like manicures and facials. Beauty 360, which was announced in August, probably began its planning in 2007 or 2006, long before the credit crisis. The retailer is committed to the concept and is looking to open as many as 50 pilot stores with the upscale merchandise.