Fate Of KMart, Sears Stores Decided Once Again In Connecticut

VERNON, CT — And soon there will be just one KMart store left in Connecticut. News surfaced on Friday that the Vernon KMart will be closing in the spring, officials for the parent company, Sears Holdings, said. Sears officials cited ongoing financial woes amid bankruptcy proceedings.

The store targeted for closure is located at 295 Hartford Turnpike. This means that later in 2019 that the only KMart store remaining in the state will be in Watertown at 595 Straits Turnpike.

While KMart will be losing another location in Connecticut in 2019, no additional Sears stores have been targeted for closure in the state. The Milford, Waterford and Meriden stores will soon be closing and after February 2019, the only Sears stores left in Connecticut will be in Danbury and Manchester.

"As part of Sears Holdings' processes to accelerate its strategic transformation and facilitate its financial restructuring, on Dec. 27, 2018, the company informed associates at 80 stores that we will be closing these Sears and KMart stores in late March 2019," a statement from the company said.

Liquidation sales at the doomed stores are expected to begin in two weeks, Sears Holdings officials said. To see the full list, click here. The previously announced closure of 40 "unprofitable stores" is expected to be completed in February 2019, officials said. Vernon was added to that list this week.

The future of whether Sears will exist in the future received a bit of a boost late Friday when chairman Eddie Lampert, submitted a $4.4 billion bid to buy the retailer, CNBC reports. However, while the fact Lampert bid is good news and saves the retailer at least for now, there is no guarantee that the bid will be accepted and that won't be known until Jan. 4 and then an auction would still occur on Jan. 14.

Photo Credit: Chis Dehnel