Jan. 21--Discount retailer Filene's Basement plans to close about one-third of its 36 stores by the end of February if it is not able to get concessions from its landlords.

Two Ohio stores, one on the North Side of Columbus and the other in the Cleveland area, are not slated for closing.

Julia Davis, general counsel of Filene's Columbus-based parent company, Retail Ventures, said clearance sales began this week at 11 stores Filene's stores identified as "underperforming." She said the company hopes that not all the stores will close if lease concessions can be reached, but the plan otherwise is to close these stores by Feb. 28.

States with more than one store planned for closure include Illinois, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Retail Ventures bought Filene's Basement out of bankruptcy in 2000. For a time, it was considered a model for Retail Ventures as it tried to remake Value City Department Stores. Instead, the company unloaded Value City a year ago to a group of private equity investors. The Value City chain declared bankruptcy in October, and closed its last stores in Columbus last month.

mrose@dispatch.com

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