Sears Reportedly Will Close Last Chicago Department Store in July
Sears, which began as a mail-order business out of Chicago before branching out into brick-and-mortar stores, will shutter its department store there in July, reported the Chicago Tribune Friday. The retailer closed nearly 20 percent of its U.S. stores and…
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shed more than 50,000 jobs in 2017, said the article. As of Feb. 3, Sears Holdings operated 1,002 full-line and specialty retail stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, including 547 Sears stores, according to its March 23 annual report. “The retail industry is changing rapidly,” said the company. “The progression of the Internet, mobile technology, social networking and social media is fundamentally reshaping the way we interact with our core customers and members,” driving a transition to a “member-centric company” focused on core customers that are part of its Integrated Retail and Shop Your Way programs. “We have invested significantly in our membership program, our online ecommerce platforms and the technology needed to support these initiatives,” continuing to pursue a “transformation strategy and to explore potential initiatives to enhance our financial flexibility and liquidity,” the retailer said. The company incurred “significant losses and experienced negative operating cash flows for the past several years,” it said. Sears didn't comment.