BILLINGS – Sears will close at least 63 more stores as sales plunge and losses mount, and the Billings store in on the list.
The list of store closings was announced Thursday by its parent company, Sears Holdings. Sears said it identified 100 non-profitable Sears and Kmart stores and picked 63 for closure “in the near future.”
The Billings store at West Park Promenade on Grand Avenue and others will close in September, according to the company. Liquidation sales will begin June 14.
No other Montana or Wyoming stores are on the list.
The company closed nearly 400 stores during the past 12 months, and now has a total of 894 left, including the 63 slated for closure. The two chains had a total of 3,500 US stores between them when they merged in 2005.
In 2016, Sears Holdings shuttered its Billings Kmart store at the corner of Central Avenue and 24th Street West. That location will soon be razed and become a Winco’s grocery store.
Sears Holdings initially announced plans Thursday to close 72 stores, but pulled back slightly and released a list of only 63 stores slated for closing – 48 Sears stores and 15 Kmart stores, spread across 29 states. The company said the nine additional stores that it initially planned to announce would close will be evaluated further.
Sears said overall revenue fell 31 percent in the three months ending May 5. While most of that decline was due to previous store closings, sales fell 12 percent at the stores that remained open.
The lower sales resulted in a $424 million loss for Sears Holdings. The company has lost more than $11.2 billion since 2010, its last profitable year.
Sears is looking to sell its Kenmore appliance brand in an effort to raise cash, after selling off its Craftsman tool brand a year ago.
Shares of Sears tumbled another 13 percent on the results in afternoon trading.
The complete list can be found here.
