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Bakers Footwear Group Inc., a mall- based retailer of shoes for young women, filed for bankruptcy protection after announcing a plan to close stores and reduce costs because of declining sales, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The company listed assets of $41.9 million and debt of $59.5 million as of April 28 in chapter 11 documents filed yesterday. Bakers, based in St. Louis, said on Aug. 27 that it will shut as many as 25 stores, sell leases and other assets for as many as 52 more to Aldo Inc. for $6.4 million, and terminate its license for H by Halston. The proceeds will be used to pay bank debt and trade creditors, Bakers said. The company expects to raise as much as $8 million through liquidation sales and reduce expenses by as much as $7 million a year.

Montana retailer Vann's may have been given a brief reprieve after a bankruptcy court judge approved appointing a chapter 11 trustee yesterday, MTNews.com reported yesterday. The move means the Missoula-based company will not have to immediately head into chapter 7 bankruptcy and liquidation, and start closing their doors. Word came Monday that there may be a buyer in Bozeman who's interested in purchasing the electronics and appliance chain, which started in Missoula back in 1961. The interested party is mulling over a possible deal, but still has to finish reviewing some of the details of what may be involved in buying Vann's.

The National Restaurant Association said that it will reject a proposed settlement of as much as $7.25 billion with Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. over the fees they charge stores when customers pay with credit cards, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The settlement will not change a broken system on how the swipe fees are set, the association said. The settlement announced July 13 still needs approval by a federal judge. It would put to rest about seven years of litigation over claims that San Francisco-based Visa and Purchase, New York-based MasterCard conspired to fix fees. The accord calls for a temporary reduction in rates for merchants and would allow them to impose surcharges on customer purchases. The restaurant association joins the National Retail Federation, which represents more than 9,000 retailers, in opposing the settlement. The retailer association said on Sept. 11 that the proposed agreement does nothing to prevent Visa and MasterCard from raising swipe fees in the future.

Vann's Inc., the appliance and electronics store that filed for bankruptcy last month to reorganize its finances, asked the court to convert the bankruptcy to a liquidation and has given its Missoula, Mont., employees 60-day layoff notices, the Associated Press reported yesterday. "We've been trying to restructure under Chapter 11 and we have an obligation to let the judge know that unless somebody is willing to put in $3 million to $5 million for inventory, we can't do it," said Jerry McConnell, Vann's chief executive officer. Vann's has about 150 employees in six stores, including 85 in Missoula. The company secured some financing after filing for bankruptcy on Aug. 5, but McConnell said sales were not strong enough to continue.

Discount retailer Syms Corp. said yesterday that it completed its financial restructuring and emerged from chapter 11 protection after closing all of its stores and liquidating their merchandise, the Associated Press reported yesterday. The emergence completes a 10-month bankruptcy process for Syms and its Filene's Basement subsidiary. The reorganized company, which was renamed Trinity Place Holdings Inc., will try to sell off the company's commercial real estate and license its intellectual property for the benefit of its shareholders. Trinity expects to satisfy the negotiated payments to creditors required by its reorganization plan. Most of the funds needed to emerge from bankruptcy protections were raised through the sale of $25 million of new shares of common stock.

Piccadilly Restaurants LLC filed for chapter 11 protection on Friday after debt restructuring talks broke down with its lender, New York-based fund Atalaya Capital Management, Reuters reported today. Piccadilly was given a commitment for debtor in possession financing of up to $5 million, providing the company with ample liquidity, according to the company. Baton Rouge, La.-based Piccadilly has about 80 restaurants, over 70 food service operations and has roughly 3,500 employees.

Ritz Camera & Image LLC plans to go out of business after 94 years as it failed in a bankruptcy auction to find a buyer to keep the largest U.S. specialty camera retail chain open, Reuters reported yesterday. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross yesterday approved a plan to turn over most of Ritz's assets to liquidation specialists Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC and Hilco Merchant Resources LLC, the high bidders at a Sept. 6 auction, court records show. C&A Marketing Inc, an online retailer, plans to acquire some of Ritz's intellectual property assets, court records show. Ritz filed for chapter 11 protection from creditors on June 22, less than three years after emerging from an earlier bankruptcy under the ownership of a group led by President David Ritz, part of its founding family.

Syms Corp. yesterday won bankruptcy court confirmation of a chapter 11 plan that will see the former retailer renew its life as a real estate owner, Dow Jones DBR Small Cap reported today. Rather than throwing all its real estate on the bankruptcy auction block at distressed prices, Syms fashioned a plan that allows it to wait for the right time and the right price before selling. The company's advisers estimate the real estate is worth $147 million.

Mark Shale, one of Chicago's oldest specialty retailers, has filed for chapter 11 protection and said that liquidation is a possibility if the company fails to attract financing or a buyer, the Chicago Tribune reported today. Sales declines in women's clothing, as well as the overall economic downturn, have had a detrimental effect on the company's overall business, according to court documents submitted yesterday. The documents, signed by President and Chief Financial Officer Richard Myers, indicate that sales at the 83-year-old retailer have dropped sharply, about 60 percent, to $6.36 million in its most recent fiscal year. Mark Shale's filing marks the retailer's third trip through bankruptcy. The company last filed for chapter 11 in 2009, when it sold its out-of-state stores and closed an outlet on Elston Avenue.

Montana electronics retailer Vann's Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection blaming declining sales in a poor retail climate and two unsuccessful efforts to expand into new businesses, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The company, which listed $17.6 million in assets and $14.4 million in liabilities in court documents filed on Friday, said that it has suffered losses because of its attempts to broaden the scope of its business beyond electronics. Vann's has two secured lines of credit, one with First Interstate Bank, on which it owes $4 million, and one with GE Commercial Distribution Finance Corp. with an $8.5 million maximum borrowing amount.