Papyrus to close all stores nationwide in latest sign of retail woes

The havoc playing out in retail continues, with stationery chain Papyrus readying to close 254 stores across the U.S. and leaving about 1,400 workers without jobs. 

The Goodlettsville, Tennessee-based business founded by Marcel and Margrit Schurman in 1950 is holding sales to clear inventory as it readies to shut down its retail stores in the next four weeks, according to Papyrus' corporate parent, Schurman Retail Group. 

"Despite our Herculean efforts to realign our Papyrus and American Greetings stores to fit today's shopping environment, Schurman Retail Group had to make the difficult decision to close all 254 of our stores in North America, which will impact our workforce of about 1,400 employees," SRG CEO Dominique Schurman said in an emailed statement to CBS MoneyWatch.

"We want to thank all of our loyal customers for their patronage of our proud family business started by my parents 70 years ago," she added.

Named after the earliest form of paper made from the papyrus plant, the business first operated as an importer of European paper products. It expanded over the years to include greeting cards, gift wrap and note paper under brands that in addition to Papyrus include American Greeting, Carlton Cards and Paper Destiny. 

While electronic cards have surely replaced paper versions for many consumers, the broader retail industry is awash in store closures and even corporate bankruptcies as more consumers shop online. The rough environment has seen a slew of retailers curtail operations, including dozens of Lucky's Market stores reportedly now slated to shut down in 10 states and Pier 1 Imports planning to close up to 450 stories, or about half its retail real estate.