Sears closes 13 more stores

Sears retail footprint continues to shrink. Transformco, the parent company of Sears and Kmart, is planning to close an additional 13 stores as the stores have continued to struggle over the years. The news was reported by Retail Dive. Recently, Transformco made a series of job postings for temporary positions for store closures, including one at a Kmart and the rest at Sears stores. The closures include stores in California, Hawaii, Texas, Virginia, Maryland, Florida, Massachusetts, and New York.

Sears has consistently liquidated over the past ten years. In 2010, Sears had over 3900 stores. Since then, the company has seen a series of trials and tribulations, including property sales, private brand sales, the divestment of Sears Canda, Sears Hometown, bankruptcy, and acquisition by former CEO and current chairman Eddie Lampert.

Every year for the past several years has brought a new series of store closures for Sears. In 2018, the company filed for bankruptcy and has closed hundreds of stores since then.

On January 30, Forbes reported that Sears had 36 stores and Kmart had 30 stores left. The closure of Sears has been devastating for malls, which once relied on the formerly bustling department store to be anchors.

photo: courtesy of Transformco