Bay Area Sears & Kmart Stores Under Threat Of Closure
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – Sears Holding Corp. announced on Tuesday that it is closing more than 100 Sears and Kmart stores across the country due to a weak holiday shopping season.
The company has not disclosed which stores will be shuttering. Some shoppers outside the Sears at Oakridge Mall in San Jose said the news isn't that surprising.
"That section of the market is disappearing," said Carlton Allen, who said he still remembers the days when Sears was the big store on the block.
KCBS' Matt Bigler Reports:
"It was Sears, JCPenny and maybe Macy's," he said. "Those were the big ones and if you wanted to go shopping, Sears was where you went shopping, even for clothes."
Maria Roman said she would shop at Sears a couple of times a year, but was never drawn to its Internet storefront. "I think it's sad that a lot more stores are closing down. But I don't know if I ever shopped there online," she said.
Several employees said they were surprised by the announcement and are now fearful of losing their jobs.
It is still not known how many employees will be laid off and a timeline for the planned closures. Some industry experts said that part of the problem for Sears is that economic troubles are severely impacting its core customers and the company hasn't put enough money into remodeling stores, leaving them uninviting for shoppers.
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