HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (AP) — Following a “challenging” holiday season, Sears will accelerate the closure of some of its stores.
Comparable-store sales in the fourth quarter dropped 6.9 percent at Sears, and 7.2 percent at Kmart, which the also company owns.
While the quarter that contains the critical shopping season was better compared with the previous three quarters, overall same-store sales fell 9.2 percent in 2015, with Sears stores leading the decline.
Shares are down nearly 4 percent before the opening bell.
As for store closures, Sears Holdings Corp. said Tuesday, February 9, 2016, that it will include, but not be limited to, about 50 stores that the company recently announced it would be shuttering in the next few months.
“As previously disclosed, we are also considering options for our Sears Auto Center business which could include the sale of the business in whole or in part,” the statement also said.
The Kmart on Brady Street in Davenport was recently closed. Sears announced in November 2014 it will sell off hundreds of stores. A month earlier, the company announced it was closing 77 Sears and Kmart stores, including locations in Iowa and Illinois, and cutting thousands of jobs. The Kmart in Sterling, Illinois closed in January 2014.
The retailer will release its quarterly and full-year financial results on Feb. 25.
