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Sears Holdings Corp. announced internally Tuesday that it would close 72 additional retail locations by September, according to Business Insider.
The closures are in addition to the 180 stores the retailer has shuttered since the beginning of the year. Included in this most recent round of closures are 16 Sears stores and 49 Kmart stores, reports Business Insider. According to the article, these closures will bring the total store count down to about 1,200 from 2,073 in 2012, a loss of about 42 percent of the retailer’s stores over five years.
Earlier this year, the retailer announced a $1 billion cost-cutting plan, which included selling its Craftsman tool brand to Black and Decker and opening up sales of Kenmore grills in retail establishments other than Sears and Kmart stores. In its first-quarter financial report, the company announced a 20 percent year-over-year revenue decline and increased its cost-cutting plan to $1.25 billion, which included closing Kmart pharmacy locations and Sears Auto Centers.
“We recognize that we need to accelerate our efforts to improve our operational performance and are moving decisively with our $1.25 billion restructuring program,” says chairman and CEO Edward S. Lampert.
