Hawaii Island Sears and Kmart stores don’t appear to be on the chopping block, and a company representative said all stores part of the latest round of closures nationwide already were notified. ADVERTISING Hawaii Island Sears and Kmart stores don’t
Hawaii Island Sears and Kmart stores don’t appear to be on the chopping block, and a company representative said all stores part of the latest round of closures nationwide already were notified.
A report compiled by Seeking Alpha reveals the struggling retail giant will close more than 100 stores during the next few months, including 30 department stores, 31 Sears Auto Centers and 55 Kmart stores.
The company closed 75 Kmart stores and 21 Sears outlets earlier this year.
More than 6,000 layoffs are expected from the closures, according to Seeking Alpha, a crowd-sourced content service that covers financial markets.
The company has sought to cut costs to counter falling sales.
Indiana and Pennsylvania have been particularly hard hit, with eight store closing in each of those states, according to Seeking Alpha, which did not list any Hawaii outlets but continued to add other stores to its list as it updated Thursday.
Hilo has a Sears store and service center; Kailua-Kona has a Sears Hometown store and a Kmart. There are nine Sears and seven Kmart stores statewide.
Sears disputes the list of closures, saying the count isn’t accurate. But the company hasn’t released a clarifying list.
Howard Riefs, director of corporate communications for Sears Holdings, told reporters there is no list of closures available, and store counts will be revealed in a third quarter report in November.
“As we have previously communicated, adjusting our physical footprint to focus on our best performing locations is a core component of our transformation,” Riefs said in an email.
“While this has resulted in store closures where appropriate — decisions that we do not take lightly — we continue to have a substantial nationwide footprint with a presence in many of the top malls in the country,” Riefs added.
Daniel Jacobs, owner of Sears Hometown &Outlet in Kailua-Kona, said he would be concerned by any Sears closure that would leave service contracts up in the air and island residents with few options.
Jacobs noted his store is not owned by Sears Holdings but has a sister company arrangement.
Sears and the discount chain Kmart merged in 2005. Riefs pointed out the company still has a huge presence, with nearly 2,500 stores and 200,000 employees.
Email Bret Yager at byager@westhawaiitoday.com.
