Sears Will Close 63 More Stores, Clearance Sales Begin Next Week

For those of you keeping score at home, Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) plans to close 63 Sears and Kmart stores by late January. Of the closures, 45 are Kmart stores and 18 are Sears stores. Of the Sears store closures, 15 also include the December closure of Sears Auto Centers located at the stores.

Last March the company said in its annual report filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it may not be able to proceed as a “going concern.”

Some suppliers have cut payment terms to the company from 60 days to 30, and some, like Whirlpool, have said they will stop selling products at the remaining stores.

Sears has said that liquidation sales at the stores tabbed for closure will begin as early as November 9. Along with the list of stores that will be closed, Sears said:

Sears Holdings continues its strategic assessment of the productivity of our Kmart and Sears store base and will continue to right size our store footprint in number and size. In the process, as previously announced we will continue to close some unprofitable stores as we transform our business model so that our physical store footprint and our digital capabilities match the needs and preferences of our members.

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The stores will be open during the holiday season the company said, and employees who will lose their jobs will receive a severance payment and have the opportunity to apply for open positions at Sears or Kmart stores in their area. Sears probably shouldn’t expect too many takers.

Sears stock traded down more than 4% Friday afternoon, at $5.21 in a 52-week range of $5.03 $14.32. Why the company simply doesn’t call it a day and file for bankruptcy remains a mystery.

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