European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 23, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                9e 18 a be stars and stripes i Mem cd h it a-1-rr-rv --1-. Ivy not matters wednesday december 23, 1992 shoppers buy time with layaway plans rvs Nam Nind Nijiu. / i by Robert Dvorchak the associated press Tammy sumy picked out a video game toys sweaters and other Christmas presents four months ago. She picked them up last week after making her final layaway payments. A i can to pay All at once and id be up to my ears in debt if i had a credit card so i pay a Little bit at a time a said Sumey of Royal a. A i  have Christmas if it Wasny to for  layaway sales have been robust this Holiday season following the general Rule that layaway increase when the Economy sags. In Tough times it s a Way to stay tree of credit card debt and still celebrate the holidays. A a its a lot of work for the store because they have to make room to store. The item and every payment is like a new Sale said Joseph Siegel vice president of merchandising for the National retail f federation. A but its a Way of holding on to customers and the secret of a successful store is repeat  and there a a practical advantage to leaving stuff in the store until just before the Holiday the main thing is they keep it so i done to have to hide Christmas gifts from my daughter said Joann Mccase of Fredericktown a. Layaway Are sort of a reverse instalment plan without finance charges or interest fees. Customers done to take the item Home until its paid for in full and payment plans can last 30 Days to a year. Purchases cover everything from bicycles to jewelry to living room Furnita the concept originated at the turn of the Century when door to door paddlers took a Down payment on orders for pots and pans. They a collect a certain amount every week so the items were paid for when they arrived in 10 weeks or so. Some places specialize in layaway like Hills department stores inc., a 154-store discount Chain headquartered in Canton mass. Layaway Are More than 10 percent of total sales but Hills  give exact numbers. Judging from the Long lines layaway Are More popular than Ever. A a it a a service to our customers. We re so locked into it i done to think Well Ever walk away from it a said Hills spokesman Glenn Ryerson. Quot we see it As a competitive advantage for  some of the Best customers put As much As $3,000 of merchandise on layaway. Some payments can be set up through the mail. A layaway does become More popular around the holidays. We offer it because our customers Are interested in having that service a said Mary Lorencz spokeswoman for Kmart headquartered in Troy Mich. Many Sears Roebuck and co. Stores offer layaway plans mostly in inner cities where Many customers done to qualify for a company credit card. Layaway policies vary by store and by state. Many stores charge an extra fee for layaway and charge a nonrefundable fee if a customer cancels a layaway or fails to meet payments. The 1,838 outlets of Wal Mart stores inc., however give full refunds without penalties. Consumers should make sure they know a stores policy before laying items away said Pat Cohen of the department of consumer affairs in new York City. A you should read everything first and know what you re signing a she said. Her office gets about 100 layaway complaints a year. The main objections a stores substitute an item for the one that was Laid away. A stores go bankrupt and keep the May away instalments. A or stores refuse to refund payments if customers change their minds. The Federal Trade commission distributes pamphlets that urge layaway shoppers to make sure they know a stores policy but it notes that state Laws govern refund policies. In Ohio state rep. Vermel m. Whalen of Cleveland helped enact a Law that limits the amount retailers May keep to 10 percent of the total up to a maximum of $25, when customers change their minds about layaway. Most reputable stores have reasonable policies but some smaller retailers were gouging customers Whalen said. A a it a a multimillion Dollar rip off of the poor in America a she said. A Consumers Are entitled to a fair  to keep Schwinn rolling while bids come in from wire reports Chicago a Schwinn bicycle co. Got approval from a bankruptcy court monday for financing designed to keep it in business through february while it looks for a buyer. As part of the plan approved by a . Bankruptcy court Schwinn agreed to accept sealed bids from prospective buyers until feb i the privately held bicycle and fitness a a equipment manufacturer filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy Protection oct. 7. A month later it Laid Oft half of its work Force of 320 people nationwide including 60 of the 120 people it employed at its Chicago Headquarters. A a this is a big step Forward Quot said Edward r. Schwinn jr., president and chief executive officer. Quot it ensures our ability to keep products in the pipeline. We re going full Speed ahead with production planning for the Peak Spring  chapter ii freezes most of a company a debts while it reorganizes and figures out a Way to satisfy creditors. Mondays financing agreement with Banks and unsecured creditors allows Schwinn full use of its receivables approximately $16 million and the right to borrow an additional $7  s editor to resign new York a the controversial editor of Barron s National business and financial weekly has been asked to resign after 11 years at the Post. Alan a be Ison reportedly told staff members monday that Dow Jones amp co., the magazines publisher would allow him to continue to write us popular a up and Down Wall Street column. But 1 he new York t Imes reported tuesday that Abelson said he would write the column Only it Dow Jones agreed to replace him with a person he  eatery to sell shares washing i on a a restaurant named after  basketball association Star Wilt i he Stilt Chamberlain said monday that it planned to go Public offering More than 1 million shares to investors. Wilt chamberlains restaurants inc., based in Boca Raton fla., already operates one 242-seat sports theme restaurant in a shopping Center there. It plans to use the proceeds of the Stock offering to fund the construction of family restaurants in selected . Cities and the creation of a franchise business. Chamberlain 56, was the a bad a most valuable player from 1966 to 1968. Shoney s denies Leader ousted because of racial Reform efforts Nashville Tenn. A Shoneye a inc. Officials denied reports that the chairman of the restaurant action was 0ut because of his push for affirmativefij0"ard Roberts resigned thursday six weeks Cini  s sctt cd a racial discrimination lawsuit for mid million. The Wall Street journal reported monday that Roberts was ousted because he had pushed too hard to Reform racist corporate policies. The newspaper also said hat three of four executives brought in by Roberts to help his affirmative action efforts were fired Rhc inference that anyone at Shoneye a was ousted or resigned because of a stance on affirmative action or the discrimination lawsuit is untrue a said Taylor h. Henry jr., who replaced Roberts As chairman and chief executive. As for the other executives Shoneye a spokesman Tom Lawrence said they had no responsibility for affirmative action. 3 the journal quoted Roberts As saying he resigned because certain Shoneye a Board members a resisted of Kofr i 50 re ported that Roberts had grown tired of battling Shoney s top executives Over race relations Cut to fifth n8�3 Fhon Captai Quot Dos Leeds Par Canada Quarter restaurants in 36 states and the lawsuit was filed 3 a years ago in Florida by nine under a a in yeah il.c.har8ed that Shoneye a operated under a code ordered by major stockholder and former emf sin Danner lha limited the number of Black Kheyfe p,c7cstau, and restricted those hired to Kitchen work. In settling the suit nov. 3, shone a a admitted no wrongdoing. Of Cuney act strike seen As curse Blessing ?ur9h miss new we but others. In Dukuh apr not everyone is unset about Pittsburgh apr not everyone is upset about the strike that has idled the City a two daily newspapers Lor the past seven months. Fumble fingered athletes a lid some politicians could not be happier. But funeral directors and real estate agents Are among those who wish the strike would be settled so they can go Back to business As usual. The papers have published Only two Days since May 17, when delivery Drivers struck the Pittsburgh press co., which published the Pittsburgh press an afternoon paper and printed and distributed the Pittsburgh Post Gazette a morning paper. The teamsters Wen on  Over a company to streamline a try and eliminate 450 of 605 jobs and All of its 4 500 youth carriers. 1 for athletes the strike silenced the jury of columnists who routinely tried and convicted them for making errors when a Pittsburgh pirates baseball player would make an error on a ground Ball when a Mem Ier of the penguins hockey team would miss a slap hot or when a Steeles football player would drop a touchdown pass. 1 t  Garey Sec d in Bod print. It could be two or three Days later and wed still see it in bold print said Gerald Williams a defensive tackle w h the Steeles. Some politicians also have not missed the papers. By election Day some incumbent politicians were downright Giddy about the strike. Most of the incumbents opponents had no Money to advertise and without the newspapers to report their campaigns the opponents names meant nothing to voters. A around Here All the anti incumbency sentiment emf Sun Minn a said brn a a Quot a who ran Hunsuc Efsic s for a keep hos Iris Tokes a tees inc i a a Ark cts also have been hit by the strike us unadvertised apartments have remained empty said Bernard 8c�?~ an it her paper a it own troublesome a a a estate agent. It s very announced in paper �?T�?~death01�?T56 hey were not amp is it so is ass funeral director be sad Mike by Asa a alack01buhheir stows Olin Piki Quot a up the traffic accidents which ? a Den with crime and scanners and make Good to Omage up Cash y in pm ice malt b8cucau, anemtl1 we was afraid drive to the stood a reasonable Chance nf�?Th0 a the parki"8 broadcasters Quot said Dennis Rod Rte a mins Quot news for the Pittsburgh press. In october r w a a Porter for the sell the press to Blade inn a so Apps agreed to Post Gazette. Blade said i us cations owner of the and print Only the Post Gaz Euc but he pc agreements with the teamster a not Fly  bad planned to resume Nuhi a i it or Mons and Chase has been  a Quot a 4�?T but the a which to reviewing i for anti Yms