Kmart Stores In Aurora, Englewood Closing

AURORA, CO — Twenty-eight more Sears-owned Kmart stores will soon close in addition to the 180 company stores already announced this year. In Colorado, Aurora's Kmart location on Colfax Avenue will close along with a store on Belleview Avenue in Englewood.

The closings were announced by Sears Holding Corp., which owns the stores and reported another quarterly operating loss. CNN reports that Kmart, which had more than 880 stores a year ago, is now down to a little more than 600.

In a statement, the company said the closings were necessary to allow it to "continue to transform [the] business model so that [its] physical store footprint and [its] digital capabilities match the needs and preferences of [its] members." (For more information on store closures and other Colorado stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Thanks in part to shoppers migrating to the web from the malls, Sears sales at stores open for at least a year fell 11.5 percent in the second quarter ended July 29, the company announced.

Total revenue fell 22 percent to $4.37 billion, mainly due to store closures, which shaved off $770 million of revenue, Sears said.

"Eligible associates impacted by these store closures will receive severance and will have the opportunity to apply for open positions at area Kmart or Sears stores," Sears said.

Dozens of Sears and Kmart stores have already closed this year as the company tries to overcome steep losses in sales and huge operating costs.

Patch Staff and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo credit: Michael Kilgore via Flickr/Creative Commons