Best Products will close four California stores.

The locations--in Culver City, Woodland Hills, San Rafael and Newark--are among 17 unprofitable stores being shut as part of a restructuring. Best, a discounter and catalogue showroom retailer based in Richmond, Va., operates 212 stores in 28 states. The company also reported a loss of $5.7 million for the second quarter ended Aug. 2. It said the closings and the sale of a discount apparel subsidiary will result in a pretax charge of about $38 million in the third quarter. In addition, the company said it is eliminating its quarterly dividend on common stock until further notice.