Springfield spared in first round of Sears, Kmart closures

After announcing earlier this week that it would close 100 to 120 Kmart and Sears retail stores, Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Sears Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: SHLD) has released an initial list of 79.

So far, Springfield area stores have been spared from closures.

Two Missouri stores were named on the list - a Sears Grand/Essentials in Lee's Summit and a Sears full-line store in St. Louis.

Sears Holding Corp. has yet to decide on closure dates for the stores, and it hasn't determined the specific number of employees who would be impacted, but a typical store employs between 40 and 80, according to the closure list.

The closure announcement came after Kmart and Sears retail stores experienced lackluster holiday sales.

Comparable store sales for the eight-week period ending Dec. 25 showed a 4.4 percent decrease for Kmart stores and a 6 percent decrease for Sears stores, for an average of 5.2 percent. The company is predicting its fourth-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to be less than half of last year's $933 million in the quarter, according to a news release.

Sears Holding Corp., which operates more than 4,000 retail stores in the U.S. and Canada including Sears and Kmart, plans to release its fourth-quarter and year-end financial results Feb. 23, according to the release.  

As of 11:32 a.m., the company's shares were trading at $32.29, compared to its 52-week range of $31.94 to $94.79.[[In-content Ad]]