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Sears and Kmart to close up to 120 stores on poor sales Sears and Kmart to close up to 120 stores on poor sales
(40 minutes later)
Up to 120 Sears and Kmart stores are to close, the US retailer has revealed.Up to 120 Sears and Kmart stores are to close, the US retailer has revealed.
Sears Holdings, the department store group which owns the two major retail chains, expects the closures to raise up to $170m (£108.5m; 130m euro) as their stock is sold off. Sears Holdings, the department store group which owns the two major retail chains, blamed falling sales, particularly of big-ticket items.
In the eight weeks to Christmas Day, sales at Kmart fell 4.4% and by 6% at Sears.In the eight weeks to Christmas Day, sales at Kmart fell 4.4% and by 6% at Sears.
Both firms have reported a decline in demand for consumer electronics, amid fears of another US recession. The company, which has 2,200 outlets in the US, expects the closures to raise up to $170m (£108.5m; 130m euro) as their stock is sold off.
Both Sears and Kmart have experienced a decline in demand for consumer electronics, amid fears of another US recession.
Kmart has also reported a decline in clothing sales over the same period.
Chief executive Lou D'Ambrosio said: "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 Lou D'Ambrosio said: "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."
The firm has almost 2,200 Kmart and Sears stores across the United States. The firm's third quarter sales saw the company post a loss due to weakness in its Canadian stores, soft electronics sales and struggles in clothing and pharmaceutical sales at its Kmart unit.
It added that it expected fourth-quarter earnings to be less than half of last year's amount.