Sears, Kmart to Close Over 100 Stores
Between 100 and 120 Sears and Kmart stores will be closing soon, according to the retailer on Tuesday. Horrible holiday sales during the Christmas season this year is the cause. Sears has not yet determined which stores will be closed, but the company is leaving its practice of shoring up “marginally performing” stores in hopes of improving their performance. Sears will now concentrate on cash-generating stores, according to the company.
CEO Louis D'Ambrosio said, “Given our performance and the difficult economic environment, especially for big-ticket items, we intend to implement a series of actions to reduce ongoing expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model.” He would not discuss how many jobs, if any, would be cut. But clearly, with around 100 employees per store, the cuts will be in the neighborhood of 10,000.
Sears Holding Corp, said the store closings will generate $140 to $170 million in cash from sales of inventory. The retailer expects additional proceeds from the sale or sublease of real estate holdings.
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