Linens 'n Things to close 120 stores

The more than half-dozen Linens 'n Things' stores in the Triangle will be spared from the company's round of closings after the home furnishing retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Clifton, N.J.-based Linens Holding Co., the privately held parent of the chain, operates seven stores in the Triangle, according to its Web site. All of the company's 19 North Carolina stores will remain open as the company closes 120 underperforming stores around the country, a press release says.

"The significant deterioration in the mortgage, housing and credit markets and the resulting impact on the retail marketplace, particularly the home sector, has overwhelmed the operating and merchandising improvements that we have made over the past two years," Robert J. DiNicola, Linens Holding's executive chairman, said in a statement. "We are making the strategic decision to use a Chapter 11 filing to proactively address our capital structure and ensure that our stores will remain well stocked while we work through the steps to align the capital structure of the company with the realities of today's business environment."

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Linens 'n Things, which logged $2.8 billion in sales in 2007, has 589 stores in 47 U.S. states and seven Canadian provinces.

The company's Canadian stores, which are among the strongest performers in the chain, are not included in the filing. There are no plans for a bankruptcy filing in Canada, Linens Holding said.

The company has landed $700 million in debtor-in-possession financing from General Electric Capital Corp., which Linens Holding said will ensure healthy merchandise flow as it gets ready for the back-to-school and holiday selling seasons.