Sears is closing several North Carolina stores after filing for bankruptcy
Struggling retailer Sears is closing 142 more unprofitable stores across the U.S. this year — including several in North Carolina.
The closures — which affect both Sears and K-Mart locations — come as the once premier American retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday.
None of those Sears closures appear to be in the Triangle, however, according to a list published by USA Today.
Three Sears locations in North Carolina are part of the sweeping closures, according to the national newspaper. They are at Cross Creek Mall in Fayetteville, Berkeley Mall in Goldsboro and Carolina Place Parkway in Pineville, near Charlotte.
Sears also plans to close three K-Mart locations in the state as well, including a store on Western Boulevard in Raleigh. Other K-Mart locations closing in North Carolina include ones in Statesville and Asheville.
Liquidation sales will start immediately at closing stores, the company said.
Sears still has several Triangle locations, including two in Durham at Northgate Mall and Southpoint mall, as well as at Triangle Town Center in Raleigh and a smaller-format location in Apex.
At its peak, the operator of Sears and Kmart had around 4,000 stores, but it will now be left with a little more than 500, according to the Associated Press. The company, which once had 350,000 workers, has also shrunk its headcount 68,000 workers as of Monday’s court filing, the AP reported.
In recent time, the company has been shedding assets and closing stores. Earlier this year, it announced it would close the Sears in Crabtree Valley Mall. That new came shortly after it had sold the store’s footprint there back to the mall’s owner for $20 million.
Sears also sold its property at Northgate Mall in Durham for $6.5 million.
Last year, the company even sold its famous Craftsman brand to Stanley Black & Decker, following earlier moves to spin off pieces of its Sears Hometown and Outlet division and Lands’ End, according to the Associated Press.
Associated Press contributed to this report
This story was originally published October 15, 2018 at 1:40 PM.