Sears has announced the closing of over 100 Kmart stores and 41 of its Sears outlets.
That same day, Sears also announced that it had sold its Craftsman tool brand to Stanley Black & Decker Inc. Beverly Hills Web Design
Stanley Black & Decker Inc. plans to expand the availability of the Craftsman brand by offering its products in stores outside of Sears. Right now, only 10% of Craftsman tools and products are sold in other stores. The brand would also like to open a new U.S. plant to make more Craftsman products.
This isn’t anything new for Sears, having closed 78 stores last year and more than 200 in 2015. The retailer stated that though their sales were reported at $1.2 billion over the past year, they were also losing about $60 million.
The entire company has been struggling and losing money steadily.
This news of the mega-retailer closing stores is in addition to the recent news of Macys and Kohl’s also announcing major store closures. These brick and mortar stores have been faced with new online competitors in the past years, including Amazon.
Their struggle is thanks to a combination of a shift in the retail world, big box competitors, and design arrangements that are not competitive.
Closing stores around the nation is a difficult step but absolutely necessary to keep the company afloat. Sears’ new strategy is to focus on high performing stores in efforts to make profits without losing as much money as before.
Sears also stated that the employees at the closing stores will be receiving severance payments and the option to apply for positions at better performing Sears and Kmart stores in their area.