Sears Holdings to close 78 Kmart, Sears stores
Troubled retailing giant Hoffman Estates-based Sears Holdings Corp. said Thursday it plans to close 68 Kmart and 10 Sears stores starting this summer.
The affected stores are scattered nationwide, but none are in the Chicago suburban area.
The closing Kmart stores will start liquidation sales on May 12 and Sears stores on April 29. All of the targeted Sears stores and nearly all of the Kmart stores will close by late July. Two Kmart stores will close by mid-September, the company said.
The number of affected employees is not publicly available, but severance will be provided to affected employees and they will have the opportunity to apply for open positions at other Kmart or Sears stores, Sears spokesman Howard Riefs said.
"It's important to note that an overwhelming majority of these jobs are part-time positions," Riefs said. "We are committed to treating these associates with respect and compassion during this process."
Riefs could not say whether future closures would hit the suburbs.
"We have a large portfolio of stores and we routinely examine the stores to address unprofitable stores while investing in the overall ecosystem to support the broader network," he said.
After the stores close this summer, Sears Holdings will have about 1,500 stores left, Riefs said.
The beleaguered company said in February it would accelerate the closing of unprofitable stores and then obtained a $500 million loan on April 8. Thursday's announcement follows a review of the performance of the affected stores and the timing of lease expirations.
"The decision to close stores is a difficult but necessary step as we take aggressive actions to strengthen our company, fund our transformation and restore Sears Holdings to profitability," Sears Holdings Chairman and CEO Edward S. Lampert said in a statement. "We're focusing on our best members, our best categories and our best stores as we work to accelerate our transformation."