Sears to close 100 to 120 Kmart, Sears stores

[katnapped]

I was told by one of my sources that it should be coming out anytime soon more than likely by the beginning of Feb.

Still no list...wonder if they're either having a hard time making a decision or just plan on closing the remainder of the 120 "silently" (no list, they just turn up in local newspaper articles about their closing due to "lease expirations" or something)

[Zayre88]

Sears Holdings Reaches $270 Million Deal for Sale of Eleven Sears Stores to General Growth Properties

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Sears Holdings Corporation SHLD +19.91% announced today a definitive agreement for the sale of eleven Sears full line store locations to General Growth Properties for a purchase price of $270 million. The transaction is expected to close in the next 45 to 60 days, subject to customary closing conditions.

Each of the Sears stores is part of an existing General Growth property. The transaction includes the list of owned and leased stores listed below.

        1450 ALA MOANA BLVD     Honolulu       HI Leased
        1481 CORAL RIDGE AVE    Coralville       IA Owned
        1201 LAKE WOODLANDS The Woodlands  TX Owned
        20 BELLIS FAIR PKWY     Bellingham       WA Leased
        1751 MADISON AVE        Council Bluffs IA Leased
        9405 W COLONIAL DR      Ocoee          FL Owned
        1001 APACHE MALL        Rochester      MN Leased
        2000 N NEIL ST          Champaign        IL Leased
        6191 S STATE ST STE 300 Murray        UT Owned
        2501 W MEMORIAL RD      Oklahoma City OK Owned
        1200 TOWNE CENTRE BLVD  Provo          UT Owned

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sears-holdings-reaches-270-million-deal-for-sale-of-eleven-sears-stores-to-general-growth-properties-2012-02-23

[Zayre88]

Sears closing all Nine Great Indoors stores
By Sandra M. Jones
Tribune reporter
5:28 p.m. CST, February 23, 2012

Sears Holdings Corp. said it plans to shutter all nine of its Great Indoors stores, including one in Lombard.

The Hoffman Estates-based retailer informed store managers Thursday of the pending store closures. The timing of the closing has yet to be determined, according to Sears spokeswoman Kimberly Freely.

The upscale, big-box home decorating and remodeling are holdovers from the days before Kmart Holding Corp. bought Sears, Roebuck and Co. Former Sears Chairman and CEO Arthur Martinez conceived the concept in 1998 as a growth vehicle that would operate 200 stores.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-sears-closing-all-nine-great-indoors-stores-20120223,0,3311965.story

[Zayre88]

Sears shedding some stores, reports 4Q loss ($2.4 billion fourth-quarter loss)

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writers â€" 1 minute ago 
NEW YORK (AP) â€" Sears said Thursday that it's unloading some of its profit-busting stores, but the retailer fell short of revealing how it plans to woo shoppers back into its remaining ones.

"The image is atrocious. The stores are old and they're run down. They don't look like a nice place to visit," said Ron Friedman, a partner in the retail and consumer products industry group of accounting firm Marcum, LLP in New York. "I don't think that the Sears we see today can be around from a year today. It has to change."

Industry watchers weren't as impressed as Wall Street. They said that Sears' biggest problem is that the company hasn't invested in its stores.

Indeed, rivals like Wal-Mart typically spend between $6 and $8 per square foot on things such as updating cash registers, replacing floor tiles and repainting stores, according to research firm International Strategy & Investment Group. But over the past few years, Sears spent on average between $1.50 and $2.00 per square foot.

Not surprising....  ::)

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gGK5-0FYCNefhZOAPfyLNBYLADhQ?docId=61756c2b00314ffeb11b690bea4144cd

[dmx10101]

The news just keeps getting worse for Sears Holdings

[vwnut13]

Yet (it seems like) kmart is still intending on reopening their West Lebanon NH location after it was flooded by Irene.

[katnapped]

There's a few more closings listed...mostly Kmarts this time, and again the northeast was spared save for 2 stores (1 in NJ and 1 in MD)

[Zayre88]

There's a few more closings listed...mostly Kmarts this time, and again the northeast was spared save for 2 stores (1 in NJ and 1 in MD)

http://www.searsmedia.com/tools/02232012_close.html

Updated list

[Zayre88]

Sears Canada is closing 3 high-profile stores in Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa and selling the leases back to landlord Cadillac Fairview Corp. Ltd. for a total of $170 million.

The three stores are in major city shopping malls - Vancouver's Pacific Centre, Calgary's Chinook Centre and Ottawa's Rideau Centre. The Sears in Calgary has been open since 1965.

In February, Sears laid off 400 employees in its head office and stores.

Sears Canada Inc. announced last week that profit fell by more than half in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 28 to $38.7 million.

After five years of annual declines in revenue, net earnings and same-store sales, in fiscal 2011 the retailer suffered a loss of $60.1 million.

http://www.canada.com/business/Sears+Canada+close+three+stores/6242993/story.html

[retailisking]

Yet more evidence that Lampert's purchase of Sears was and is a real estate deal; he was just biding his time before the commercial market starting showing signs of life.

[Zayre88]

Yet more evidence that Lampert's purchase of Sears was and is a real estate deal; he was just biding his time before the commercial market starting showing signs of life.

It appears that the 3 Sears Canada locations sold could become Nordstrom...

[Zayre88]

In the annual report it released today, Sears Holdings Corp. said it would close 173 Sears and Kmart stores across the country in the first half of 2012. The company will also change the format of eight others from Sears Essentials and Sears Grand to Kmart stores.

The hit list comes to 60 Kmarts, 34 Sears, 17 Sears Essentials and Sears Grands, 43 Sears Hometowns, 10 Sears Hardwares and nine Great Indoors.

Previously, Sears had said it would shutter between 100 and 120 full-line stores.

The company has currently identified  to the public 105 of the locations that will be shuttered. Of the doomed sites, two Sears stores, three Kmart stores and one Great Indoors store are in Illinois.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20120314/BLOGS01/120319878/sears-closures-climb-to-173-stores

[katnapped]

Sounds like more closings to be announced....

[Zayre88]

List has been updated on June 26:

http://www.searsmedia.com/tools/02232012_close.html

[AmesNewington]

It's so amazing that Sears/Kmart has kept all CT stores open since their initial announcement on December 27.

[katnapped]

It's so amazing that Sears/Kmart has kept all CT stores open since their initial announcement on December 27.

Seems like the northeast is their strongest region as it's avoided the majority of the recent closings.

[retailisking]

The Northeast loses another Sears...I wonder what this means for the Kmart in Auburn?  It'd be interesting to see what leases are up in the region, and whether this will help Augusta and Brunswick survive...

http://www.sunjournal.com/news/lewiston-auburn/2012/09/28/lewiston-sears-close-january/1257573

[Zayre88]

The Northeast loses another Sears...I wonder what this means for the Kmart in Auburn?  It'd be interesting to see what leases are up in the region, and whether this will help Augusta and Brunswick survive...

http://www.sunjournal.com/news/lewiston-auburn/2012/09/28/lewiston-sears-close-january/1257573

Sears was probably feeling alone in Lewiston without more major retail stores in that area.  The Lewiston Mall is small and not very attractive. 

That's what happens when you have twin cities that each have their own retail hub.  What happens is that each one has their own small mall instead of having only one larger mall with both Sears and JCPenney.  When Porteous closed at the Auburn Mall, Sears should have moved to that space and expanded the store.

[retailisking]

A bit out of our usual coverage area, but the timing of this announcement is quite interesting in light of the Lewiston closure
http://www.wbir.com/news/article/236495/2/Morristown-Sears-is-closing

[retailisking]

A notorious dead mall is about to get even deader...
http://www.timesonline.com/news/state/kmart-closing-at-parkway-center-mall-in-pittsburgh/article_c24cc2d6-3074-5183-b4f4-46db810b93d0.html

[Zayre88]

Another Kmart is closing...  Is it me or Kmart is slowly going out of business one store at a time??

http://www.pontiacdailyleader.com/article/20121013/NEWS/121019520/1001/NEWS

Pontiac’s Kmart store, a staple in Vermillion Plaza for 40 years, will close its doors early next year, local and corporate spokespersons confirmed Friday.

The store will remain open through the Christmas holidays, but new layaway purchases will no longer be accepted, said store manager Jeff Richards. Current layaway items must be paid for by Oct. 31.
“We made the announcement to Pontiac associates on Wednesday,” said Chris Brathwaite, a spokesman for the Hoffman Estates-based corporation. “It was a business decision to not renew our lease,” he stated.

[retailisking]

I think if SHLD doesn't own the real estate you can count on stores continuing to close as the leases run out. If the leases have a long time to run, subdividing the properties (subject to any restrictive covenants with the landlords) is going to become more and more commonplace. I think Land's End is a goner, too; they've already spun off the Hometown and Outlet businesses to generate cash, and the yuppie clothier should fetch a decent price, if not quite what Sears paid for it. Lampert's game is selling off the family jewels for whatever he can get for them. At this point it may be the only realistic thing to do.

[Zayre88]

Pleasant Hill Kmart set to close in January

By Lisa P. White
Contra Costa Times
Posted:   10/18/2012 02:08:31 PM PDT

PLEASANT HILL -- After 40 years, the Kmart in the DVC Plaza shopping center on Contra Costa Boulevard will close in mid-January, according to the company.
The company declined to renew its lease, said Chris Brathwaite, spokesman for Sears Holdings Corp., which owns the Kmart stores. Liquidation sales begin this weekend, he added

[Zayre88]

October 16, 2012 at 2:07 pm
Sears to close Woodhaven Kmart in January

By Michael Martinez
The Detroit News
0 Comments
Sears Holding Corp. confirmed Tuesday that it plans to close a Kmart store in Woodhaven in January.

In a notice to the Lansing-based Workforce Development Agency, Sears Holding announced the closure after it decided not to renew its lease at 19800 West Road in Woodhaven. The company told workers last week the store would close, Sears Holding spokesman Chris Brathwaite said in a Tuesday email.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20121016/BIZ/210160427#ixzz29hKHU4Gl

[IGA/Kmart Is Forever!]

I think if SHLD doesn't own the real estate you can count on stores continuing to close as the leases run out. If the leases have a long time to run, subdividing the properties (subject to any restrictive covenants with the landlords) is going to become more and more commonplace. I think Land's End is a goner, too; they've already spun off the Hometown and Outlet businesses to generate cash, and the yuppie clothier should fetch a decent price, if not quite what Sears paid for it. Lampert's game is selling off the family jewels for whatever he can get for them. At this point it may be the only realistic thing to do.

I am very grateful that all three of the Kmart stores that are in the county that I live in are all owned by the Sears Holdings Corporations. It decreases their chances of shutting down. Not only that, but at the same time these stores should be old enough to the point that the buildings could possibly already be paid off. If my calculations are correct on this, that means that they should only have things like gas, water, electricity, etc to pay for monthly. When the location of a store is owned by the corporation that operates the store and the buildings are paid off, they have less expenses to pay for at the end of every month, which in return gives them more revenue to keep the locations open.

[retailisking]

Sears in Lynchburg, VA is closing, ending presence in city after 84 years:
http://www2.newsadvance.com/business/2012/oct/24/21/sears-closing-lynchburg-store-ar-2308187/

[Zayre88]

Kmart on Blanding Boulevard to close early next year
October 29, 2012 - 12:20pm

Another Jacksonville Kmart will be closing. The company has announced that the store at 4645 Blanding Blvd. will shut its doors in late January.

That means 83 employees will be laid off. Those who are eligible will receive severance packages and be able to apply for open positions at other Kmart and Sears stores, a spokesman said.

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/472000/roger-bull/2012-10-29/kmart-blanding-boulevard-close-early-next-year

[Zayre88]

Trotwood Ohio Kmart to close in January
Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012

Trotwood will lose another major retailer in January with the closing of the Kmart store at 5300 Salem Ave.
Kmart officials on Thursday notified the store’s 71 employees that the Trotwood location will close in late January 2013.
“We made a business decision to close this store based on its performance,” said Chris Brathwaite, a spokesman for Sears Holdings Corp., owner of Kmart and Sears.
The Kmart store in Trotwood opened in 1994.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/business/trotwood-kmart-to-close-in-january/nStSL/

[Zayre88]

Kmart store in Durham to close
PUBLISHED THU, NOV 08, 2012 05:53 PM

Kmart is closing its Durham store at 4215 University Drive and laying off 79 people, the company announced in a letter filed this week with the N.C. Department of Commerce.

The store, which operated for nearly three decades, is slated to close Jan. 20. Liquidation sales will get under way this weekend.

“These decisions are never easy, because Kmart appreciates being a member of the community,” said Kmart spokesman Chris Brathwaite. “However, we made a business decision to not renew the lease at this location based on its performance.”

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/11/08/2471133/kmart-store-in-durham-to-close.html

[IGA/Kmart Is Forever!]

Trotwood Kmart to close in January
Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012

Trotwood will lose another major retailer in January with the closing of the Kmart store at 5300 Salem Ave.
Kmart officials on Thursday notified the store’s 71 employees that the Trotwood location will close in late January 2013.
“We made a business decision to close this store based on its performance,” said Chris Brathwaite, a spokesman for Sears Holdings Corp., owner of Kmart and Sears.
The Kmart store in Trotwood opened in 1994.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/business/trotwood-kmart-to-close-in-january/nStSL/

Does anybody know what city and state that this Kmart Store is located in? I had trouble understanding where they stated it existed in the link above.