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ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Sears Holdings Corp. is announcing Thursday that it will close 68 Kmart stores and 10 Sears stores as it struggles to restore profitability. The Kmart at 1320 East 30th in Hutchinson is on the list to close this summer.
The ailing company had said in February that it would accelerate the closing of unprofitable stores. The move is expected to generate a “meaningful level” of cash from the liquidation of store inventories and from the sale or sublease of some of the related real estate, it said.
The closings follow a comprehensive review of the company’s store portfolio that took into account store performance and the timing of lease expirations.
The Sears stores will close in late July; two Kmart stores will close in mid-September.
Sears has long been struggling with a sales slump, unable to keep up with rivals like Wal-Mart.