20-plus Kmart Stores to Close: Report

Sears Holdings Corp., parent company of Kmart, is planning to close more than 20 stores operating under the big-box banner in early 2017, along with several Sears stores, according to a report in Business Insider, which added that the company has informed associates internally but hasn’t yet made a list of affected stores public.

Citing store employees, the publication reported that most of the closing locations will begin liquidation sales in January and shut their doors permanently by April.

Business Insider’s own list of Kmart stores slated to close, compiled from store associates, so far includes locations in Alabama, California, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, Washington state and West Virginia, while the Sears stores reportedly set to shutter their doors are in Kentucky, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Massachusetts and New York.

With these pending closures, Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Sears will have shuttered more than 200 locations this fiscal year, leaving it with under 1,500 stores by early 2017.

According to the report, Sears is closing the stores because of declining sales.