THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 15, 1996 TAG: 9602150384
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
Color Tile Inc., the flooring retailer that filed for bankruptcy protection last month, has shuttered four stores in Hampton Roads.
Nationwide, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company recently closed 234 underperforming stores, said Todd Fogarty, a spokesman for Color Tile. They included a store in Virginia Beach, an outlet in Newport News and two in Chesapeake, he said.
Stores in Norfolk and Hampton remained open.
``The closing of these stores will eliminate the drag on our financial performance and improve the sales of nearby Color Tile stores,'' said Bart A. Brown Jr., company chairman and chief executive officer.
The ailing retailer filed for bankruptcy protection in Wilmington, Del., on Jan. 25, citing a severe downturn in the flooring products industry and difficulty in making its debt payments.
Color Tile, which sells a variety of floor coverings, is owned by InvestCorp, a Bahrain-based investment company that bought the retailer in 1989.
In recent years, the flooring industry has become increasingly competitive, retail analysts and merchants said.
``Right now, the industry is tough,'' said Paul Molnar, operations manager at Wall to Wall Carpet and Decorating Center in Virginia Beach. ``We compete with everyone from Haynes to HQ . . . to the guy who sells carpet out of his car.''
Molnar said manufacturers have even entered the fray, shipping directly to customers and bypassing the retailers.
``I don't understand the logic,'' Molnar said.
In all, Color Tile closed seven stores in Virginia, including stores in Richmond, Annandale and Manassas. The closings will leave the company with 387 stores in the United States. by CNB