Sears, Kmart to Close Stores

UPDATE (12-29-11 @ 4:30 p.m.): A store closing list released by Sears Holdings mentions only one South Carolina Sears store, in Sumter, SC, as closing. The retailer released a list of 79 stores out of 100 to 120 that will close. Read the full in the media window in this story.

Failing to see improved sales in the last three months of 2011, and with declining year-on-year sales, Sears and Kmart announced today it will shutter between 100 and 120 stores across the country.

Consumers of the Sears Holdings Corp. stores can expect big-time sales as the company seeks to liquidate assets and purge all the closing stores' inventory.

Fourth-quarter sales in 2011 fell by 4 percent at Kmart and 6 percent at Sears, according to a company news release. Overall, the company experienced a 2.6 percent drop in sales year-to-year.

A list of stores has not been released, but the closures will generate an expected $140 to $170 million, the retailer said. A list is posted on 

The company operates 4,000 stores across the U.S.

The store closings are part of a four-step process meant to streamline the struggling retail company. Among other measures, Sears/Kmart plans to reduce inventories and beef up profits by better managing inventory, according to the news release.