Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Sears Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: SHLD) announced yesterday its north-side Springfield Kmart store is part of a new series of closures.
The 1930 E. Kearney St. store is among 68 Kmart locations slated to close. A liquidation sale at the Springfield Kmart is scheduled to begin May 12, and the store is expected to close in late July, according to a news release.
Officials at Sears Holdings, which also announced plans to close 10 Sears locations this summer, said the company took into account historical and recent performance, as well as 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 Lampert said in the release. "We're focusing on our best members, our best categories and our best stores as we work to accelerate our transformation."
The Kmart at 3101 S. Glenstone Ave. and Sears inside Battlefield Mall are not on the closure list.
The Kmart at 3700 S. Campbell Ave. - now an At Home store - closed in
summer 2014.
The Kearney store, which sits on 7.7 acres, is owned by Kmart and has a 2016 taxable appraised value of $2.2 million, according to
Greene County assessor records.
In the company’s fiscal year ended Jan. 31, Sears Holdings posted a net loss of $1.1 billion. In the last quarter of the fiscal year - which included the holiday season - the company reported a net loss of $580 million. At the end of January, the company operated 941 Kmart stores and 731 Sears stores, according to a separate release.
SHLD shares were trading at $18.26 as of 9:22 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $14.05 to $44.72.
