Report: 10,000 stores expected to close by end of ’09

New York City Grant Thornton LLP's Corporate Advisory and Restructuring Services said Tuesday that it expects as many as 10,000 retail stores to close by the end of 2009.

The company also offered five tips toward surviving the wave of store closures: to better balance and integrate brick-and-mortar stores with online resources, to grow private-label offerings, to bump up green investments, to incorporate loyalty programs and to increase efficiencies.

Grant Thornton's full report, Reviving Retail, is available by visiting www.GrantThornton.com/retail.