OfficeMax reduces projected store closings

CLEVELAND - OfficeMax Inc. on Sunday announced it will close 29 stores instead of 40 following improved same-store sales in the fourth quarter. <br> <br> The company said it expects sales at stores open at least a year -- the best indicator of a retailer&#39;s health -- to be down 3 percent for the period compared with the fourth quarter of 2000. Same-store sales were down 8 percent in the third quarter. <br> <br> &#34;Since Thanksgiving, the company experienced a significant improvement in same-store sales,&#34; Michael Feuer, chairman and chief executive, said in a news release. <br> <br> OfficeMax will take a $100 million special charge in the fourth quarter for store closings and to write off some assets. Excluding the special charge, the company anticipates a loss of less than 17 cents per share for the quarter. <br> <br> OfficeMax said its year-end inventory will be less than $910 million, down more than $250 million from last year. The company used the cash from liquidating inventory to eliminate debt, Feuer said. <br> <br> Store closings are in progress in: Anderson, S.C.; Fayetteville and Macon, Ga.; Rome and Staten Island, N.Y.; Antioch, Cleveland and Knoxville, Tenn.; Fort Smith, Ark.; Branson and St. Ann, Mo.; Baton Rouge, La.; Frederick, Md.; Cincinnati and St. Clairsville, Ohio; Bay City, Mich.; Harlingen and Longview, Texas; Beaverton, Ore.; Orange, San Francisco and San Jose, Calif.; Tulsa, Okla.; Warwick, R.I.; Conshohocken, Philadelphia and York, Pa.; Paramus, N.J.; and Delray Beach, Fla. <br> <br> OfficeMax operates nearly 1,000 superstores in 49 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and joint-venture stores in Mexico and Brazil. <br>

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