Ritz Camera closing 19 of 26 stores in Minnesota

In the latest round of closures, Ritz Camera said Friday it will shutter 19 of its 26 Ritz and Proex stores in Minnesota, with liquidation sales beginning today.

Nationwide, about 300 of the specialty camera stores will shut down, leaving about 400 remaining. The seven surviving Minnesota locations are at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Coon Rapids, Eden Prairie, St. Paul, Woodbury and Rochester.

Ritz, based in Beltsville, Md., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February and is cutting costs to deal with slumping sales.

Digital cameras, camcorders, accessories and other electronic items valued at $50 million will be liquidated, with sales continuing until "everything is sold to the bare walls," the company said.

Privately held Ritz Camera got its start as a single store in Atlantic City, N.J., in 1918. Through acquisitions of such stores as Wolf Camera, it grew into a chain of more than 800 stores.

Here are the affected stores:

Apple Valley: Proex at 7735 150th St. W.

Blaine: Ritz Camera/Proex at National Market Center, 10340 Baltimore St. N.E.

Brooklyn Center: Ritz Camera/Proex at Brooklyn Center, 5605 Xerxes Av. N.

Burnsville: Proex at 2031 Burnsville Center.

Eagan: Proex at Cliff Plaza Shopping Center, 2105 Cliff Rd.

Eden Prairie: Ritz Camera Big Print One Hour at 1018 Eden Prairie Center.

Edina: Ritz Camera/Proex at 1015 Southdale Center.

Maple Grove: Proex at The Crossings, 7961 Wedgewood Lane N.

Maplewood: Ritz Camera at Maplewood Mall, 3001 White Bear Ave N.; Proex at Maplewood Commons, 1900 E County Rd D.

Minneapolis: Proex at Calhoun Village, 3232 W. Lake St.

Minnetonka: Ritz Camera Big Print Central at Ridgedale Shopping Center, 12657 Wayzata Blvd; Proex at Ridgehaven Shopping Center, 13185 Ridgedale Dr.; Proex at Westwind, 4713 S. Hwy. 101.

Plymouth: Proex at Rockford Square, 4000 Annapolis Lane.

Roseville: Ritz Camera/Proex at Rosedale Crossings, 2710 Lincoln Dr.

St. Paul: Proex at Shannon Square, 3673 Lexington Av. N.

Stillwater: Proex at Stillwater Marketplace, 1960 Marketplace Dr.

Wayzata: Ritz Camera One-Hour Photo at Colonial Square Mall, 1163 E. Wayzata Blvd.