Although the list posted at the Sears Holding Company website is still not completely updated, the Oakdale Kmart and Sears locations seem to have escaped the chopping block as they are not among the 80 stores slated for closure throughout the country.
To date there are three California Sears stores slated for closure, those being two in San Diego, and one in El Monte.
Retail analysts have theorized that the company, which has suffered more than four years of sales declines, may be taking this drastic measure in an attempt to stave off bankruptcy.
Kmart’s parent company, Sears Holding Company, made the announcement prior to the New Year that they would be closing up to 120 Kmart and Sears stores due to poor performance in an attempt to redirect resources toward more profitable store sites.
Kmart’s quarter-to-date comparable store sales decline reflects decreases in the consumer electronics and apparel categories and lower layaway sales. Sears Domestic’s quarter-to-date sales decline was primarily driven by the consumer electronics and home appliance categories, with more than half of the decline in Sears Domestic occurring in consumer electronics. Sears apparel sales were flat and Lands’ End in Sears stores was up mid-single digits.
“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. These actions will better enable us to focus our investments on serving our customers and members through integrated retail — at the store, online and in the home,” said Chief Executive Officer Lou D’Ambrosio in a press release.
In addition to specific store closures, the company will evaluate store performance going forward and act opportunistically to recognize value from poor performing stores as circumstances allow. While past practice has been to keep marginally performing stores open while they worked to improve their performance, Sears Holding Company no longer believes that to be the appropriate action in this environment.