Sears to close 43 more stores

Hoffman Estates-based Sears Holdings Corp. will close 43 more Sears and Kmart stores across the country as part of the struggling retailer's push to return to profitability, President Eddie Lampert said Friday.

Lampert, in a blog posting, said eight Sears and 35 Kmart stores in 25 states that have been unprofitable would be closing by early October. One store in Illinois, a Sears in downstate Peru, was on the list to close, as is a Sears in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The move follows the announcement last month that the retailer would close 18 Sears and two Kmart stores on properties owned by real estate trust Seritage. The company this year has announced the closing of 226 stores - 166 Kmart and 80 Sears stores - based on figures by research firm Fung Global & Retail Technology, which tracks retailers' closings.

Lampert, in his blog posting, said the closings were part of a transitional plan to move the retailer into smaller-format stores, like concept stores that opened in Fort Collins, Colorado, and Pharr, Texas in the past year.

"The smaller store concept allows us to focus on some of our stronger categories, complemented with our Shop Your Way membership program, home services and credit offerings," Lampert said. "We expect to introduce additional smaller, specialized concept stores in the upcoming quarters while simultaneously reducing the number and/or the size of larger-format, less competitive stores."