Sears will close at least 63 more stores as sales plunge and losses mount.
The list of store closings was announced Thursday. Sears said it identified 100 non-profitable Sears and Kmart stores and picked 63 for closure “in the near future.”
The store at the Puente Hills Mall in the City of Industry is among the locations being closed. A Kmart in Ridgecrest — which is in Kern County — is the only other California store on the list.
The company closed nearly 400 stores during the past 12 months, and now has a total of 894 left, including the 63 slated for closure. The two chains had a total of 3,500 US stores between them when they merged in 2005.
The company initially announced plans Thursday to close 72 stores, but pulled back slightly and released a list of only 63 stores slated for closing – 48 Sears stores and 15 Kmart stores, spread across 29 states. The company said the nine additional stores that it initially planned to announce would close will be evaluated further.
Related: Sears lists the 63 stores it’s closing
Sears said overall revenue fell 31% in the three months ending May 5. While most of that decline was due to previous store closings, sales fell 12% at the stores that remained open.
The lower sales resulted in a $424 million loss for Sears Holdings, the holding company that owns by Sears and Kmart. The company has lost more than $11.2 billion since 2010, its last profitable year.
Sears is looking to sell its Kenmore appliance brand in an effort to raise cash, after selling off its Craftsman tool brand a year ago.
Shares of Sears tumbled another 13% on the results in afternoon trading.