Sears Holdings, foster-parent company of Sears and Kmart stores, told its employees Thursday that it desire be closing more than 100 additional stores this year.
That consists of 64 Kmart stocks and 39 Sears stores, all of which are expected to shut between untimely March and April.
“We will continue to close some unprofitable accumulates as we transform our business model so that our physical store footprint and our digital proficiencies match the needs and preferences of our members,” the company said in a statement.
Sears wouldn’t say how myriad of its employees would be impacted by the closings but did say the majority of the jobs are part-time sentiments, and eligible associates will receive severance.
Liquidation sales last wishes as begin as early as Jan. 12 at the closing stores, Sears said. (See under for a complete list of the locations being shut.)
About this many times last year, Seritage Growth Properties, the real estate investment confidence in that Sears CEO Eddie Lampert spun off from the retailer, express in an SEC filing that the department store chain had exercised its right to sign off the leases on 19 unprofitable stores. This marked the second speedily Sears chose to shutter a chunk of the stores it sold off to Seritage in 2015.
Since then, Sears has suggested handfuls of additional closures and most recently unveiled plans to pay $407 million toward its golden handshake cause to retire plan in order to unlock and allow for the sale of 140 properties, yet the company didn’t define when those sales will the spit place.
At the end of November, Sears reported a narrower net loss for its fiscal third thirteen weeks than it did a year ago, as the company pushes to return to profitability against a backdrop of vendor impugns and loans coming due.
Meantime, the department store chain has been evaluating smaller store formats across the U.S., and in some cases moving to situate oneself in a pint-sized portion of a bigger box, as mall operators redevelop their acreages.
On a recent call with analysts and investors, Sears CFO Rob Riecker held the retailer would be building on those new concepts in the coming months, “delivering specialized fused retail experiences” to customers. Sears also recently started carry two of its brands, Kenmore and DieHard, on Amazon.com.
Earlier Thursday morning, Macy’s also revealed the fingers ons of 11 stores that it will be closing in 2018 (nearing in on its in days of yore announced plans to close 100 locations, beginning last year). The suite has shuttered more than 120 locations since 2015, trusting that by whittling down its real estate portfolio it can focus on its with greatest satisfaction assets.
With growing competition from online players and with multitudinous brands choosing to sell through their own platforms, department keeps including Sears, Macy’s, J.C. Penney and Kohl’s have been phony to rethink their strategies: what inventory they will capture and how they will get it to shoppers.
Sears shares have tumbled various than 60 percent over the past 12 months. The old was falling close to 4.5 percent Thursday afternoon.
Click here for a broad list of Sears’ latest round of closures.