Joining a list of major retail chains slated to close several stores in 2016, a representative of Sears Holdings, corporate parents of Sears and Kmart, announced Wednesday that Kmart will close four stores in California in March and April. It's news that was preceded by reports of other Kmart stores closing nationwide.
The Kmart on Katella Avenue West in Anaheim will close in mid-March, while stores in Chula Vista, Citrus Heights and Sant Mateo will close in April.
"Store closures are part of a series of actions we're taking to reduce ongoing expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model," said Sears Holdings spokesperson Howard Riefs, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A total of 407 employees will be affected by the closures but will receive severance and have the option to apply for open positions at nearby Sears or Kmart stores.
Other Kmart stores aren't safe from the closures either. News outlets across the country have reported that a number of other Kmart stores will close in the spring, including locations in Iowa, South Dakota, Kansas and Idaho, according to Consumerist.
Riefs did not say how many store closures the company plans nationwide, and since the company doesn't detail that information in national press releases, the only way to know for sure is to wait until the release of its annual report.
"Every year we evaluate our store portfolio and make changes based on leases or stores with poor performance," he said, according to dbtechno.
News of the closures is hardly surprising, however. Sears Holdings has been struggling for years, reporting a same-store sales decline of 7.5 percent in the third quarter at Kmart and 9.6 percent at Sears compared to the same period, ending Oct.31, from last year, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The closing of Kmart stores scheduled for March 2016 and April 2016 across the nation includes:
March 2016: Honolulu
March 2016: Lutz and Daytona, Fla.
March 2016: Cleveland, Tenn.
April 2016: Citrus Heights, Chula Vista and San Mateo, Calif.
April 2016: Ottumwa, Iowa
April 2016: Mitchell and Pierre, S.D.
April 2016: Topeka, Kan.
April 2016: Pocatello, Idaho
April 2016: Logan, Idaho
April 2016: Superior, Wis.; Virginia and Ironwood, Minn.
