The Kmart store on Valencia Boulevard near Bouquet Canyon Road is one of 28 that will close later this year, the chain’s parent company said today.
Sears Holdings Corp. said the stores (except for one in Florida) will close by mid-November, with clearance sales starting as soon as this month. The Valencia store is one of four in California that will close.
“The retail environment remained challenging, with continued softness in store traffic and elevated price competition,” the company said in a statement in which it released second quarter earnings.
Total revenue fell 22 percent to $4.37 billion, mainly due to store closures, which eliminated $770 million of revenue, the company said.
Same-store sales declined 11.5% during the second quarter of 2017, reflecting a drop of 9.4 percent at Kmart stores and 13.2 percent at Sears.
Employees at stores slated for closing will receive severance payments and can apply for open positions in other Kmart and Sears stores. Sears has a store at Valencia Town Center, and the nearest Kmart is in North Hollywood.
Sears Holdings has closed 358 Sears and Kmart stores this year, including this latest announcement. Kmart will have 596 stores after the closings, less than half of what the chain operated at its peak.
The S.S. Kresge Company opened the first Kmart in 1962 in Michigan. Kmart was at one time the nation’s second largest retailer, behind Sears. Kmart emerged from bankruptcy in 2002, and merged with Sears to form Sears Holdings Corp. two years later.
