Sears to shutter 72 more stores

After a 26th straight quarter of losses, Sears has announced they will be closing 72 stores. The list of store closures will be announced mid-day today. Sears has identified 100 non-profitable Sears and Kmart stores and have picked 72 for closure in the near future as reported by CNN.

Within the past year, Sears has closed around 400 stores, leaving them with a total of 894 stores, including the 72 slated for closure. When Sears and Kmart merged in 2005, they had a total of 3500 stores between both of them.

Sears revenue declined 31 percent for the quarter ending on May 5. Although part of that decline was due to some stores closing, there was a 12 percent decline in sales for stores that remained open. Total revenue was 2.89 billion.

Sears sees 26 quarters of straight losses

Parent company Sears Holdings took a 424 million dollar loss last year, bringing their total losses since 2010 to 11.2 billion dollars. In an effort to raise funds, Sears is hoping to sell its Kenmore appliance brand.

Sales at stores that were open at least a year declined 11.9 percent, with comparable-store sales tumbling 9.5 percent at Kmart stores, and 13.4 percent at Sears as reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Sears biggest problem is that it is having difficulty competing with Walmart and Amazon. Turnaround doesn't look promising for the retailer anytime soon, but Sears Chairman and CEO Edward Lampert, who combined Sears and Kmart in 2005, has long vowed to save the chain.

photo: Sears website