Sears and Kmart in International Falls are “not impacted” by a recent announcement from Sears Holding Corp. to close between 100 to 120 stores nationwide after poor sales were reported during the holidays.
Jay Gullickson, store manager of the local Kmart said he wasn’t allowed to offer too much comment, but could say “the store was not impacted.”
Gullickson explained Kmart “did good” on holiday sales and although he has only been in the area for a few years, he has seen the store stay “pretty consistent” with the years before.
“We have a Christmas time and a summertime,” Gullickson said of the retailer’s main seasons. “Christmas is the big one, but you’ve got to hit all cylinders to make things go.”
Gullickson’s comments were echoed by the local Sears owner Tony Olson.
“No, we are not closing,” Olson said.
Olson added that success of the hometown store has led it to a recent remodel that he is very excited about.
He continued that the community was very supportive of the hometown store for the year.
In an internal memo Tuesday to employees, CEO and President Lou D'Ambrosio of Sears Holding Corp. said that the retailer had not “generated the results we were seeking during the holiday.”
Sears Holding Corp. said it has yet to determine which stores will close but said it will post on www.searsmedia.com when a final list is compiled. Sears would not discuss how many, if any, jobs would be cut.
The company has more than 4,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Its stock dropped $7.88, or 17 percent, to $37.97 in premarket trading.
The company's revenue at stores open at least a year fell 5.2 percent to date for the quarter at both Sears and Kmart, the company said in a statement Tuesday. That includes the critical holiday shopping period.
Sears Holding said the declining sales, ongoing pressure on profit margins and rising expenses pulled its adjusted earnings lower. The company predicts fourth-quarter adjusted earnings will be less than half the $933 million it reported for the same quarter last year.
Sears Holding also anticipates a non-cash charge of $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion in the quarter to write off the value of carried-over tax deductions it now doesn't expect to be profitable enough to use.
Sears said it will no longer prop up “marginally performing” stores in hopes of improving their performance and will now concentrate on cash-generating stores.
“Everything is good up here in International Falls,” Gullickson concluded. “This store is going to be opening up a restaurant soon, so we’re doing well.”
