The look of leather: Now it's cheaper

Wilsons Leather has just announced the closing of most of its 260 mall stores. The company plans to keep 100 of the stores open as "Studio" concept locations, selling mostly women's accessories. The other 160 stores will be closed, and shoppers can count on deep discounting of leather coats and accessories.

The closing will eliminate about 1,000 jobs, but corporate management says the move is necessary to drastically cut costs and put their full effort behind this "Studio" concept. Wilsons Leather had been experiencing declining sales for several months. The company reported better numbers for January, but said that the numbers were only because of clearance sales.

So if you like leather, this may be your chance to get a really good deal on a coat. Popular sizes tend to sell out fast, but you may still snag the bargain leather coat of your dreams if you get there quickly.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.