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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 |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Shares in US retail giant Sears have fallen 19% after announcing plans to close up to 120 Sears and Kmart stores amid poor figures. | |
| Sears Holdings, the department store group which owns the two major retail chains, blamed falling sales. | |
| 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. |
| The company, which has 2,200 outlets in the US, says the closures should raise up to $170m (£108.5m; 130m euros). | The company, which has 2,200 outlets in the US, says the closures should raise up to $170m (£108.5m; 130m euros). |
| It added that it expected fourth-quarter earnings to be less than half of last year's amount. | It added that it expected fourth-quarter earnings to be less than half of last year's amount. |
| Both Sears and Kmart have experienced a decline in demand for consumer electronics, amid fears of another US recession. | 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. | 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'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. | 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. |