Sears, Kmart to Close 100-120 Stores

Sears Holdings Corporation, the tenth largest retailer by annual revenue in the US, announced Tuesday that it would close between 100 and 120 Sears and Kmart stores because of poor holiday sales.

“Given our performance and the difficult economic environment, especially for big-ticket items, we intend to implement a series of actions to reduce on-going expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model,” chief executive Lou D’Ambrosio is quoted as saying by the AFP.

D’Ambrosio estimates the store closings will generate $140 to $170 million in cash in inventory sales and added that Sears expects to make even more money when it sells or subleases the properties.

 According to the Washington Post, same-store revenue fell 5.2 percent to date for the quarter at both Sears and Kmart stores.

 While Kmart’s declining sales were blamed on diminished layaways and a drop in clothing and consumer electronics sales, Sears’ cited lackluster consumer electronics and home appliance sales for their drop.

Though the company, which has more than 4,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada, would not reveal which Sears and Kmart locations would close or how many jobs would be cut as a result of the shut-downs, it did say the closings list would be posted at http://www.searsmedia.com once it was completed.