HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (CBS/AP) ― Proving that even discount stores aren’t recession proof, 21 more Sears and Kmart stores are closing around the country – including two in the Chicago area.
Sears is closing two Kmart stores, at 13200 S. Cicero Ave. in south suburban Crestwood, and at 2235 S. Eastwood Dr. in far northwest suburban Woodstock, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.
A total of 57 employees at the Woodstock store and 71 at the Crestwood store will be laid off, Crain’s reported.
Within the Midwest, Ohio is the most severely affected state. There, five stores will close and 314 people will lose their jobs, according to Crain’s.
Meanwhile, it turns out that Sears just posted its best quarterly profit in three years.
Led by financier Chairman Edward Lampert, Sears has spent years struggling as customers skipped out on its brands for competitors.
But in the fall, business began to turn around at its Kmart discount chain when sales at those stores rose for the first time since 2002 as deal-seeking shoppers returned to stores. That momentum continued in the fourth quarter, which ended Jan. 30., as Kmart shoppers snatched up cheap toys and home goods.
Sears shares climbed $1.86, or 1.9 percent, to $97.52 in premarket trading. Shares closed Monday at $95.66.
Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.
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