Sears Holdings Corp. announced Tuesday plans to close 100 to 120 stores after 2011 losses. However, the status of individual stores is still unknown.
Sears includes Kmart stores and the Lands’ End brand.
A spokeswoman at the Columbus Kmart on Highway 45 North referred all questions to the Sears corporate office in Hoffman Estates, Ill. A message there told reporters not to leave messages if they were calling about individual stores as the company has not announced which stores will be closed.
Sears Domestic stores posted losses of 6 percent for the quarter ending Sunday and 2.6 percent for 2011, according to a corporate news release. Kmart stores posted fourth-quarter losses of 4.4 percent and 2011 losses of 1.8 percent in the same periods.
Kmart’s store-sales decline reflects decreases in the consumer electronics and apparel categories and lower layaway sales, according to the news release. Sears Domestic’s 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 ongoing 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,” Sears Holdings CEO Lou D’Ambrosio said in the news release.
The actions include closing 100 to 120 Kmart and Sears stores, reducing 2012 peak inventory, better managing inventory, pricing and promotion and reducing fixed costs.
Previously, Sears worked to help marginally performing stores improve. Now, the company will focus its efforts and resources only on better performing stores.
Sears Holdings is the nation’s fourth-largest broad-line retailer with more than 4,000 full-line and specialty retail stores in the United States and Canada. Sears Holdings is the leading home appliance retailer as well as a leader in tools, lawn and garden, consumer electronics and automotive repair and maintenance.
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