Lucy changes course

Portland, Ore.-based womenÕs sportswear web retailer Lucy.com, which launched just over a year ago, will close its Internet business next month and focus on offline retail stores. Lucy, which also will discontinue its mail order catalog, cites the high cost of Internet sales and lack of funding for its change of direction. Lucy has one offline store in a Crunch Fitness health club in Manhattan. The company plans to open more stores this year, although it will not provide details. The company has fired more than half of its 95 employees, with more layoffs expected after the web and catalog operations close. The board of directors expects to save money by operating only offline stores and is not ruling out re-introducing a web business in the future.