Earlier in June, departmental chain Sears shared that it will be closing 66 Stores in the United States. It has now announced the closure of 20 more, which will be an addition to the already 245 closed ones, which were announced earlier this year. The announcement came on Friday, June 23, and will increase the number of closures to more than 260 stores.
The news comes as a blow to the iconic 124-year old retail chain as it strives to stay relevant in the age of online shopping. Similar to Sears, other retail chains such as Macy’s and J.C. Penny also struggle for survival as Americans take to online shopping.
Bad times for Sears
A day before the closure announcement came in the U.S., spin-off Sears Canada filed for bankruptcy protection and also said that it would be closing down 59 stores apart from laying off almost 3,000 employees. Sears Canada was spun off from the Sears Holdings in the U.S. in 2012. Although both companies have separate operations, Eddie Lampert CEO of Sears Holdings is the largest investor in Sears Canada.
The news may not come as a surprise as many analysts including the ones from credit Moody’s had alerted that Sears Holdings may join the list of more than 300 U.S. retailers that have gone bankrupt in 2017. However, in an attempt to stay relevant, Sears Holding announced that it would be downing shutters to an additional 20 stores in U.S.
– 18 of which will be Sears stores and two will be Kmart stores.
However, this arrangement may not be taken by the shareholders too kindly and was slapped with at least one shareholder lawsuit. According to a Sears spokesman, the retail chain sold 235 properties to Seritage in 2015 and has been giving the store locations on rent from the trust.
Which stores are closing down?
To survive the tough times, Sears will be closing down 20 new stores in locations, which include stores in Sarasota Florida, Overland Park Kansas, Chicago Illinois, La Jolla Village Drive San Diego, Lafayette Louisiana, Cockeysville Maryland, Roseville Michigan, and many more. Sears has been a trusted name in the American household and the nation’s biggest retail chain for years.
However, after loss and decline in sales for the last six years, Sears is being forced to shut down many of its stores to stay afloat in such difficult times. It had even to sell its own brand Craftsman's line of tools to survive. The retail chain is optimistic that such a move will help it stay afloat.
