More Sears and Kmart stores are set to go dark, as the brands' new parent company, TransformCo, fights to keep the once-bankrupt business afloat.
The company announced on its website Monday evening that 26 additional Sears and Kmart stores will close in late October, ranging from locations in California to Texas to Virginia. (See a complete list of locations below.) Liquidation sales will begin around Aug. 15, the company said. The Sears Auto Centers at certain locations will start closing later this month.
TransformCo added it "cannot rule out additional store closures in the near term."
"Over the past several months, we have worked hard to strengthen our vendor relationships, return our inventory levels to normal, and improve customer satisfaction and operations; however, we have faced a number of challenges returning our stores to sustainable levels of productivity, including differences with Sears Holdings over our purchase agreement and a generally weak retail environment. These challenges have unfortunately affected our performance and limited our strategic choices," the company said.
Sears emerged from bankruptcy earlier this year when its CEO at the time, Eddie Lampert, secured a roughly $5 billion deal using his hedge fund ESL to buy the retailer's assets out of court, keeping about 400 Sears and Kmart locations up and running. The new entity of assets was renamed. And Lampert stepped down from his CEO role but still serves as chairman of TransformCo.
As a private company, TransformCo has largely flown under the radar, as it doesn't have to report quarterly sales reports, which tended to be very dismal for Sears. In May, it opened three "Sears Home & Life" stores — a new format it says it's testing where it focuses mainly on selling mattresses, appliances and connected home products.
Hundreds of Sears and Kmart locations have gone dark over the years, with more shoppers moving away from the mall and purchasing goods like appliances, apparel and furniture online. And TransformCo still faces those same challenges today.
A spokesperson for the company declined to comment on how many employees would be impacted by the latest round of closures.
Here's the list of Sears and Kmart stores set to close in October:
Kmart 1625 W Redlands Redlands CA
Kmart 14011 Palm Drive Desert Hot Springs CA
Kmart 159 Wilbraham Road Palmer MA
Kmart 975 Fairmount Avenue Jamestown NY
Kmart Puerto Rico Hwy 3 Plaza Guayama Guayama PR
Sears* 2500 Riverchase Galleria Birmingham AL
Sears* Somersville Road Antioch CA
Sears* 8501 W Bowles Avenue Littleton CO
Sears* 6200 20Th Street Vero Beach FL
Sears* 901 Us 27 N Sebring FL
Sears* 3700 Atlanta Hwy Ste 270 Athens GA
Sears* 5 Stratford Square Bloomingdale IL
Sears* 2300 Southlake Mall Merrillville IN
Sears* 6501 Grape Rd Us 23 Mishawaka IN
Sears* 6901 Security Sq Blvd Baltimore MD
Sears* 6780 S Westnedge Avenue Portage MI
Sears* 4900 Fashion Square Mall Saginaw MI
Sears* 18777 E 39Th St S Independence MO
Sears* 3 Mid Rivers Mall Drive St Peters MO
Sears 330 Siemers Drive Cape Girardeau MO
Sears* 600 Richland Mall Mansfield OH
Sears* 1101 Melbourne Rd Hurst TX
Sears* 10000 Emmett F Lowry Expy Texas City TX
Sears* 4812 Valley View Blvd Ne Roanoke VA
Sears* 4700 N Division Street Spokane WA
Sears* 100 Huntington Mall Road Barboursville WV
*: The Sears Auto Center at this location is set to close in late August.