HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILL. — Sears Holdings Corp. plans to close 96 underperforming stores by February 2020, according to the retailer’s parent company, Transform Holdco LLC. The closings will consist of 51 Sears stores and 45 Kmart stores, leaving 182 operational Sears and Kmart stores remaining in the United States. The closing stores are scattered throughout all regions of the country, including 28 located in California. A full list of store closures can be found here. “Since purchasing substantially all the assets of Sears Holdings Corp. in February 2019, Transformco has faced a difficult retail environment and other challenges,” the company noted in a press release. “We will endeavor to create and deliver value through a strategic combination of our better-performing retail stores and our service businesses, brands and other assets, and expect to realize a significant return on our extensive portfolio of owned and leased real estate.” Ahead of the holiday season, Transform secured a $250 million lifeline financing from lenders including its owner, Eddie Lampert. Lampert bought Sears out of bankruptcy for $5.2 billion in January and, at the time, the sale prevented liquidation of 425 properties. “None of this is a surprise. Sears continues to morph from a …
