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Sears, the American department store chain founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in 1892, will close the last store in Illinois, where the first retail store was established in 1925.
According to CNN Business, the company’s department store in Schaumburg, Chicago, will cease operations on November 14. The Sears store in the district’s Woodfield Mall will close in less than two months, and this has been confirmed by Transformco, a private company that acquired Sears after filing for bankruptcy in 2018.
Transformco said the decision to close its last store in Illinois is part of its rebound strategy. They plan to improve service and would like to focus on growing Sears Home Services and the brand’s e-commerce platform, sears.com.
“We intend to reinvigorate and maximize the value of real estate while enhancing the consumer experience with popular retailers that match the regional appeal of Woodfield Mall,†said Scott Carr, president of the real estate of Transformco.
Larry Costello, Director of Public Relations at Transformco, added, “It is part of the company’s strategy to unlock real estate value and pursue the highest and best use for the benefit of the local community. “
In addition, while it will close its last department store, Sears will still have a presence in Illinois, as the state has 11 more Sears Hometown stores. These are the ones that operate mainly in small towns and are managed by franchisees or independent resellers.
Stores in cities are much smaller than Sears department stores which typically measure 100,000 square feet. Sears’ hometown is only 6,000 to 8,000 square feet and typically sells home appliances and durable goods. Transformco plans to operate more outlets like these instead of the huge department stores.
Meanwhile, CNBC reported that a Transformco spokesperson declined to say how many Sears and Kmart stores are still open to the public. After acquiring Sears in 2018, it closed dozens of Kmarts and Sears, and the publication said on the company’s website, the latter still has 35 open locations while the former has 22.
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