Sears is closing a whole bunch of Kmart stores
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On Friday, Sears Holdings, which owns Sears and Kmart, informed Kmart employees in at least 13 states that their stores would be closing in mid-December, according to local news reports and employees who spoke to Business Insider.
The stores that are closing will begin liquidation sales on September 22, employees said.
Sears did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for a full list of the stores closing.
According to Colorado newspaper the Craig Daily Press, a total of 60 store closures were announced on Friday.
Separately on Friday, Seritage Growth Properties, a real estate investment trust that owns 235 Sears and Kmart stores, revealed in a filing that Sears had decided to terminate leases on 17 stores, meaning it would close those stores.
According to RBC Capital Markets analysts, all 17 closures are Kmart stores.
The new wave of closures follows Sears' decision to shut down nearly 80 stores - most of which were Kmart stores - in July. Moody's analysts warned this week that Kmart doesn't have enough cash or access to cash to stay in business. Kmart has about 870 stores today, down from about 1,300 in 2012.
We have compiled a partial list of the stores closing in December, according to local news reports and employees who spoke to Business Insider. We will add to this list as we learn more about the closings:
- Cullman, Alabama
- Craig, Colorado
- Lafayette, Indiana
- Byron Township, Michigan
- Grand Rapids, Michigan (Plainfield Township)
- Natchez, Mississippi
- Scottsbluff, Nebraska
- Binghamton, New York
- Burlington, North Carolina
- Canton, Ohio
- Oak Ridge, Tennessee
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Smyrna, Tennessee
- Clarkesville, Tennessee
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Abilene, Texas
- West Valley City, Utah
- Cody, Wyoming
Do you work at a Kmart store that is closing? Reach out to this reporter at hpeterson@businessinsider.com