UNDATED — Sears will close at least 72 more stores as sales plunge and losses mount.
The list of store closings is due to be announced mid-day Thursday. Sears said it identified 100 non-profitable Sears and Kmart stores and picked 72 for closure “in the near future.”
The company closed a total of nearly 400 stores during the past 12 months, and now has a total of 894 left, including the 72 slated for closure. The two chains had a total of 3,500 U.S. stores between them when they merged in 2005.
Sears said overall revenue fell 31% in the three months ending May 5. While most of that decline was due to previous store closings, sales fell 12% at the stores that remained open.
The lower sales resulted in a $424 million loss for Sears Holdings, the holding company that owns by Sears and Kmart. The company has lost more than $11.4 billion since 2010, its last profitable year.
Sears is looking to sell its Kenmore appliance brand in an effort to raise cash, after selling off its Craftsman tool brand a year ago.
Shares of Sears tumbled another 3% on the results in premarket trading.
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