Heilig-Meyers files for Bankruptcy

The Richmond-based chain announced today it will close 302
stores.

Nationwide, 4,000 jobs will be cut.

The troubled retailer has been having problems with its
finances.

In recent weeks, many of Heilig-Meyers' furniture suppliers
either stopped shipping products to the company or required the
company to pay cash.

The bankruptcy protection will enable Heilig-Meyers to reduce
overhead and focus on operations that have been most profitable.

Heilig-Meyers was founded in 1913 in Goldsboro, North Carolina.
It grew to a chain of more than 1,200 stores at its high point
in 1998.