April 22--Sears Holdings is closing 68 Kmart and 10 Sears stores this summer, two months after announcing it was accelerating plans to shutter unprofitable locations.
Sears expects the liquidated inventory and sale or sublease of store real estate to generate "a meaningful level of cash," the Hoffman Estates-based retailer said Thursday.
Six Illinois Kmarts were marked for closing, including one at 7050 S. Pulaski Road in Chicago. Liquidation sales will begin at Kmart stores May 12 and at Sears on April 29 ahead of late July closures.
The company did not say how many employees would be affected but said eligible associates would receive severance and have the opportunity to apply for open positions at other stores. Most of the jobs are part-time positions, said Sears spokesman Howard Riefs.
Sears previously said it planned to cut costs by $550 million to $650 million in 2016, following cuts of between $765 million and $790 million in 2015. The company also said it raised more than $1.2 billion in debt financing earlier this month and "believes it has taken important steps toward its primary 2016 objective to restore profitability."
In 2015, sales at stores open at least a year fell about 9.2 percent compared with 2014, including a 7.3 percent drop at Kmart and 11.1 percent drop at Sears locations.
The 78 closures will leave about 1,500 Sears and Kmart stores, Riefs said.
lzumbach@tribpub.com
