Business & Tech

Could Sarasota Sears and Kmart Close?

Sears Holding Corp. announced it will close up to 120 Sears and Kmart stores.

The list of 79 stores across the country includes 11 stores — a mix of Sears Grand/Essentials, Sears and Kmart stores — in Florida, according to the release. More stores could be added to the list, as the company expected to close 100 to 120 stores.

Earlier:

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After a poor holiday season, Sears Holding Corp. announced Tuesday it will close between 100 and 120 Sears and Kmart Stores, according an article in the Wall Street Journal online.

Sears Holding has not announced which stores will close, but is expected to post the list on its website once the company makes those decisions, according to Yahoo Finance.

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"While our past practice has been to keep marginally performing stores open while we worked to improve their performance, we no longer believe that to be the appropriate action in this environment," the company said in a statement that appeared the Wall Street Journal article.

The company estimated it would generate $140 million to $170 million in cash from selling off inventory at its closed stores, according to the company statement.

Sears and Kmart have tried figured out ways to combine each store's features with each other since Sears took over Kmart in 2004, including featuring Craftsman tools in Kmart and more recently Kenmore appliances in Kmart. Some Sears Grand stores feature select grocery store items and other goods you would normally find in Kmart, along with select Lands End clothing and other Sears products.

Sears has not said how many employees will be impacted, the WSJ article said.


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