The Kmart store in West St. Paul will close by the end of the year, one of 64 more stores nationwide that parent company Sears Holdings Corp. plans to shutter, the company said Monday.
West St. Paul location is one of two Kmart stores in Minnesota that will close
By Staff and Wire Reports
September 19, 2016 at 11:49PM
The move comes on top of nearly 70 closings at Kmart earlier this year.
The two Minnesota stores on the closing list are in West St. Paul, in the Signal Hills Shopping Center just off S. Robert Street, and in Moorhead, a company spokesman confirmed. A liquidation sale will be begin Thursday, with the stores expected to remain open until mid-December.
Sears, which has posted a quarterly profit just once in the last four years, said in April it would close 68 Kmart discount stores and 10 Sears department stores to cut costs. It recently said it would close its Sears location at Eden Prairie Center.
Once the largest U.S. retailer, Sears has lost its standing as customers move to online shopping or rivals such as Wal-Mart.
Sears had a total long-term debt of $3.4 billion and cash balance of $276 million as of July 30.
The company said later in May that it would explore options to expand its home-improvement service business and some of its best-known brands such as Kenmore appliances.
Ratings agency Moody's Investor Service cut its rating on Sears' liquidity last week, saying Kmart's meaningful market share erosion has made it uncertain about its viability.
Business Insider first reported the closings on Monday.
Sears said it would provide an updated store count in its next quarterly filing.
Reuters and staff writer Kavita Kumar contributed to this report.
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Pending sales were up double digits for the first time this year.
