Viacom to Close Brand-Based Product Stores

Viacom Inc., the world’s fourth-largest media company, said it will phase out its chain of Nickelodeon stores and shut down its Viacom Entertainment Store in Chicago, retreating from a business it entered just last year. The move will cut about 355 jobs by mid-1999, it said. The New York-based company said it will continue to develop and market products tied to programming on its media outlets through licensing agreements. “We decided there was a better return on our investment by concentrating on licensing,” a spokeswoman said. Viacom said earlier that its plans for a possible initial public offering of its Blockbuster video rental business could be delayed until the second quarter of 1999. Viacom shares fell 75 cents to close at $68.25 on the American Stock Exchange.