Sears, Kmart to Close 100+ Stores

Illinois-based Sears Holdings announced today that it will close 100 to 120 Sears and Kmart stores, citing sagging consumer electronic and home appliance holiday sales as a reason.

Sears said it has not determined which stores will close but said it will post the list online when it is complete. The company would not discuss how many, if any, jobs would be cut.

The Sears store closest to Woodstock is at Town Center Mall in Kennesaw. The Kmart store nearest Woodstock is in Canton.

The company has more than 4,000 stores in the United States and Canada.

"Given our performance and the difficult economic environment, especially for big-ticket items, we intend to implement a series of actions to reduce on-going expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model,” Chief Executive Officer Lou D'Ambrosio said in a statement. “These actions will better enable us to focus our investments on serving our customers and members through integrated retail -- at the store, online and in the home."

For the fourth quarter to date, sales for Kmart and Sears are down 5.2 percent. Overall, the company experienced a 2.6 percent drop in year-to-year sales. The company is expected to release financial results for the fourth quarter and full year Feb. 23.