Cape Girardeau Kmart Closing Its Doors: Important Dates

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO — One of Missouri's last Kmart stores — on South Kings Highway 61 in Cape Girardeau — is closing for good soon.

A spokesperson for Sears Holdings, which owns the Kmart brand, said 46 additional unprofitable stores nationwide will be shuttered in November as the gasping retail giant tries to “streamline” operations, improve its capital position and focus on the most successful stores. Liquidation sales will begin as early as Aug. 30 at the stores.

Over the past year, the chain announced the closures of more than 160 Sears and Kmart locations. Sears reported a net loss of $424 million during the first quarter of 2018.

The latest impacted employees — the final number of which wasn’t immediately available — were informed of the imminent closures this week.

“We continue to evaluate our network of stores, which is a critical component to our integrated retail transformation, and will make further adjustments as needed,” the company said in a release. “We thank associates affected by these store closures for their many contributions to our company.”

Some workers will receive severance and be able to apply for open positions at nearby Kmart and Sears stores.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this article.

Photo by David Allen/Patch