Sears, Kmart to Shut 46 More Stores

Sears Holdings Corp. continues to clean house, announcing plans to shutter an additional 46 unprofitable stores in November.

The latest closures include 13 Kmart locations and 33 Sears stores, adding to the several hundred money-losing locations shut in recent years, USA Today reported.

Liquidation sales are set to kick off as soon as next week, CNBC reported.

"We continue to evaluate our network of stores, which is a critical component to our integrated retail transformation, and will make further adjustments as needed," the company said in a statement.

"We thank associates affected by these store closures for their many contributions to our company," Sears said in the statement. "Eligible associates will receive severance and will have the opportunity to apply for open positions at area Kmart or Sears stores."

Sears is still testing new concepts, like standalone mattress stores and combined Sears and Kmart locations, but retail analysts say it will be hard for the company to bounce back from its dire strait today.

The list of affected stores includes 13 Kmart stores and 33 Sears sites. The new shutdowns, which also impact several affiliated Sears Auto Center locations, affect states across the country.

The once-dominant retailer has been taking steps in recent years to strengthen its balance sheet, including the sale of its Craftsman tool brand last year to Stanley Black & Decker Inc. and an agreement to sell Kenmore and DieHard products through Amazon.com Inc.

For years, Chief Executive Officer Edward Lampert has used his own money to keep Sears afloat amid declines in store traffic and sales. The company has already closed hundreds of stores and shaved more than $1 billion from annual expenses.

Lampert’s hedge fund, ESL Investments Inc., said in April it would be open to buying some of the company’s assets and urged the department store to put the businesses on the block. ESL submitted a bid for the store’s Kenmore and Sears Home Improvement businesses at a valuation of around $470 million, according to a regulatory filing last week.

The Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based retailer’s shares have lost value in each of the last four years. So far in 2018, the stock has declined 67 percent.

Sears shares (SHLD) have fallen more than 85 percent over the past 12 months, bringing the company's market cap to $127.8 million, or less than Lampert is willing to pay for the Kenmore brand alone, CNBC explained. The stock hit an all-time intraday low of $1.15 earlier this week, CNBC said.

In its fiscal first quarter ended May 5, Sears reported a net loss attributable to the company of $424 million, or $3.93 per share, compared with a profit of $245 million, or $2.29 per share, a year earlier. The company's store closures brought down its revenue by nearly 31 percent in the first quarter.

Here are the 46 Sears and Kmart stores set to close in November, reported by CNBC: