Sears Holdings Corporation announced Wednesday that in an effort to increase its financial flexibility, it will close 108 Kmart and 42 Sears stores across the nation.
In Antioch, Sears (Somersville Towne Center) and KMART (E. 18th) both survived the planned closures and will continue to remain open.
Of the 108 Kmart stores closing, 4 are in California. Of the 42 Sears closing, none are in California.
According to Sears Holdings, the Board of Directors has determined to:
- Close an additional 150 non-profitable stores, comprised of 108 Kmart and 42 Sears stores, to stem losses;
- Enter into an agreement to sell the Craftsman business for a cumulative $775 million, together with use of a perpetual license for the Craftsman brand, royalty free for 15 years, and a 15-year royalty stream on all third-party Craftsman sales to new customers;
- Generate up to $1 billion in liquidity through both a newly entered $500 million real estate backed loan, secured by real estate properties valued at over $800 million; and a previously announced standby letter of credit facility of up to $500 million from certain affiliates of ESL Investments, Inc., issued by Citibank, N.A., each subject to the terms thereof;
- Market certain properties within the company’s real estate portfolio to further unlock value and increase liquidity.
Sears also said that some stores in the first two months of Quarter 4 declined 12-13%.
STORE CLOSURES
Over the last two weeks we have announced the closing of non-profitable stores, comprising 108 Kmart and 42 Sears stores. The list of store locations impacted can be viewed at http://searsholdings.com/docs/010417_store_closing_list.pdf.
While these stores collectively generated about $1.2 billion in sales over the past 12 months, they generated an Adjusted EBITDA loss of approximately $60 million over that same period.
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