More MN Sears, Kmart Closings As Company Faces Liquidation

MINNESOTA — With Illinois-based parent company Sears Holdings facing liquidation unless a viable bid comes in by Friday afternoon, the company announced it will close 80 more Sears and Kmart stores by March 2019, including two Minnesota stores.

The Kmart store at 201 Ninth Street in Rochester is among the closings, as is the Bloomington Sears store at 2000 NE Court.

Liquidation at the soon-to-be closed stores will begin in the next two weeks, and the stores will close in late March, according to Sears. Accompanying Sears Auto Centers at the locations will also close.

The struggling 125-year-old retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October. In what is likely the chain's last shot at survival, chairman and former CEO Eddie Lampert put forth a $4.6 billion proposal to buy the company in December through his hedge fund, ESL Investments. But with a deadline of Friday afternoon, Lampert still had neither submitted his bid nor secured financing, a source told CNBC.

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