With sales figures and net profits continuing to slump because customers are looking elsewhere for clothing and appliance goods, Sears announced that it will sell and close its Ala Moana Shopping Center store location. Sears will sell the store to the mall’s owner and close the retail establishment sometime in 2013.
The sale is part of a move by Sears to sell 11 stores in nine states to General Growth Properties for $270 million. This according to the retailer. The transactions are expected to close in 45 to 60 days, the company said.
Sears will continue to operate the stores into 2013. Final closing dates will be announced later this year. The Sears store was one of the original tenants when Ala Moana opened in 1959. It has been a mainstay at Ala Moana, but it looks like this Sears store will be the first Sears Hawaii casualty. Many may have seen this coming, but still, it marks the end of an era.
Chief Executive Officer Lou D’Ambrosio said in the statement that the company was taking “immediate actions” to address the losses, including cost and inventory reductions, targeted marketing and hiring for its merchandising team.
“We’re executing actions to unlock the value of our portfolio and assets,” D’Ambrosio said in a call with analysts. The company said Dec. 27 it would close as many as 120 Sears and Kmart stores to generate as much as $170 million in cash from inventory and lease sales.
“We will make the difficult decisions required to position Sears Holdings for the future and we will not accept such poor performance without making substantial adjustments,” Lampert said today. “We have a portfolio of businesses and assets that deserve to generate substantial value for our shareholders.”
As of right now, you can expect the Sears store at Ala Moana to still be there all through this year and into 2013 until a final closing date is announced.
No word yet on what Ala Moana will do with that space or if there is any interest in any other big time retailer for the space. T.J. Maxx is opening stores again in Hawaii soon, might they want to purchase this and have an Ala Moana store?
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