Lodi News-Sentinel

Sears is closing 46 more stores

- By Aurora Percannell­a

Sears Holdings Corp. will be closing 46 additional Sears and Kmart stores nationwide in November as the once-colossal retailer continues to dwindle in the age of online shopping.

In California, five stores will be closed in the newly announced wave, including a Kmart store in Los Angeles’ Mid-Wilshire neighborho­od near the Grove shopping center. Kmart stores in Spring Valley, Clovis and Antioch and a Sears store in Santa Cruz make up the other California closures.

Liquidatio­n sales will begin as early as Aug. 30, the company said.

Earlier this year, the owners of the shopping center that contains the Los Angeles Kmart store filed plans to redevelop the site into a mix of residentia­l units and retail space, Curbed LA reported.

The number of employees who will lose their jobs as a result of the store closures is not available, a Sears Holdings spokespers­on said. Eligible Sears and Kmart workers will receive severance and will be able to apply for openings at nearby stores, the company said in a statement.

The retailer, whose mail-order catalogs upended the way Americans shopped in the 19th century, is considered a predecesso­r to Amazon but has struggled to make itself relevant in the era of e-commerce. The department store owner has been selling off assets for years, and in its most recent quarterly report, it again posted declining retail sales as well as a net loss of $424 million.

In July, the company announced more than 70 other store closures.

The Hoffman Estates, Ill., company said that as of Feb. 3, it operated 570 Sears stores and 432 Kmart stores.

Sears’ stock fell 5.9% on Thursday to $1.11 a share.

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