In January 2001, the AOL-Time Warner merger was completed, at which time the chain was placed up for sale with plans to close if not sold.In February 2001, the flagship location on New York's Fifth Avenue was closed, and on September 11th, 2001, the store at the World Trade Center was destroyed when the Twin Towers collapsed. High profile stores in Los Angeles and Palo Alto were also closed. In July, AOL Time Warner announced that the chain, then consisting of 85 stores, would be shut down by October as the company moved out of the owned and operated retail business. Its three-story, 40,000-square-foot Times Square location started liquidation in July and closed in October. Warner Bros. then placed the building up for rent without the billboards. The last stores closed by December 31, 2001.