Linens 'n Things moves forward on Chapter 11

Vendors for the bankrupt home furnishings retailer Linens Holding Co. will allow letters of credit as payment from the company that filed Chapter 11 in May, the company said Monday.

More than 40 vendors, including major suppliers like Springs Global US, the Yankee Candle Company, Croscill Home Fashions, and M. Block & Sons, have agreed to accept credit up to $100 million, Linens Holding Co. said. The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved the payment program last month, the company said.

The company, based in Clifton, N.J., announced the closing of 120 stores including Massachusetts stores in Kingston, Lanesboro, and Seekonk in May. Last month, the company announced an additional 57 closings, including stores in Burlington, Sturbridge, and Taunton

The initial closings will be completed in the next few weeks, said spokeswoman Susan Kenney.

“Wherever there’s an opportunity to transfer (employees) we will if there’s another store nearby,” Kenney said in a phone interview. Otherwise, layoffs will occur, she said.
(By Elizabeth Campbell, Globe correspondent)