11 NJ Stores Set To Close With Holiday Season Arriving

Time to shop at Sears, Kmart and a bunch of other New Jersey stores before they're gone for good after the holiday season passes. Perhaps they're having liquidation sales, too.

At least 11 New Jersey stores are set to close their doors within the next two months, joining a growing list of retail chains that have declared bankruptcy or downsized this year.

Heading the list is Sears, the struggling 125-year-old retailer, which announced two months ago it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The filing caused 142 stores to close – including three in New Jersey.

The retailer, which has been forced to close hundreds of stores in recent months, said it will close unprofitable Sears and Kmart locations by the end of the year. Those closings are in addition to a number of other locations that closed by the end of November.

Here are the stores set to close in New Jersey by Jan. 1:

• Sears, 1500 Highway 35, Middletown
• Sears, 1750 Deptford Center Rd., Deptford
• Kmart, 779 Delsea Dr North, Glassboro

Also in New Jersey:

• Lord & Taylor in Eatontown will also close by Jan. 31. There are 108 employees at the store and a majority of them will be offered relocation packages to other locations, according to the company.
• Parent company Gymboree Group Inc. said it intends to close all Crazy 8 stores, which advertises that it sells "cool clothes" for kids. New Jersey has seven Crazy 8 stores: East Brunswick, Livingston, Jersey City, Moorestown, Paramus, Vineland and Woodbridge.

“These strategic initiatives are an important next step as we continue to look for ways to unlock additional value in our brands," said Shaz Kahng, Gymboree Group CEO "We are optimistic about our future as a more streamlined organization that can deliver enhanced, long-term value to its stakeholders.

"Our team remains focused on delivering the quality children’s clothing and accessories and exceptional service that our customers have come to expect from us.”

New Jersey, meanwhile, will have at least 1,000 layoffs by Jan. 1. Much of the layoffs will happen in retail, where New Jersey has had a number of store closings this year, and in the health care industry.

The Memorial Hospital of Salem County has also shed a number of jobs as it has deal with ownership changes and other issues.

Read more: Approximately 1,000 NJ Jobs Will Be Gone By The New Year

Also, hundreds of Conagra employees will be laid off sometime in 2019 as the company closes their Parsippany and Cherry Hill offices, the third major corporate closure announced in a week.

Read more: 308 Jobs Cut As Conagra Plans To Close Parsippany Office

Photo: A sign announcing the store will be closing hangs above a Sears store on August 24, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)