List of Sears, Kmart stores closing

2 p.m. update: An 80th store has been added to the closing list, this one in Indiana:

Kmart, 6050 US Hwy 6 Portage IN 46368

Original post: Sears Holdings released a list of 79 of the 100-120 Sears and Kmart stores to be shut. Each store, according to Sears Holdings, employs 40 to 80 people. Here is a list with the type and address of the stores closing. Closing dates "to be determined."

Sears Hardlines Only, 1916 19th Ave Lewiston ID 83501
Sears Hardlines Only, Us Hwy 25e - Ste B2 Middlesboro KY 40965
Grand/Essentials, 5451 Halls Mill Rd Ste 14 Mobile - Halls Mill AL 36619
Grand/Essentials, 101 E Interntn'l Speedway Deland FL 32724
Grand/Essentials, 12080 Carmel Mountain Rd San Diego - Carmel CA 92128
Grand/Essentials, 3020 Se Federal Hwy Stuart FL 34997
Grand/Essentials, 4560 Forest Hill Blvd W Palm Beach FL 33406
Grand/Essentials, 3610 Peck Rd El Monte CA 91732
Grand/Essentials, 7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd San Diego - Clarmnt CA 92111
Grand/Essentials, 375 Amherst St Bldg 1 Nashua NH 03063
Grand/Essentials, 480 West Street Keene NH 03431
Grand/Essentials, 1363 Nw St Lucie W Blvd Port St Lucie FL 34986
Grand/Essentials, 9200 Baltimore Nat Pike Ellicott City MD 21042
Grand/Essentials, 8375 E Grand River Brighton MI 48116
Grand/Essentials, 601 North M-291 Lee's Summit MO 64063
Grand/Essentials, 625 Highway 136 West Baraboo WI 53913
Sears Full-Line, 1400 Metrocenter Jackson MS 39209
Sears Full-Line,150 S 69th St Upper Darby PA 19082
Sears Full-Line, 18000 Vernier Ave Harper Woods MI 48225
Sears Full-Line, 15 Crestwood Plz St Louis-Crstwd MO 63126
Sears Full-Line, 5244 Hickory Hollow Pkwy Antioch TN 37013
Sears Full-Line, 3661 Eisenhower Pkwy Macon GA 31206
Sears Full-Line, 880 N Military Hwy Ste 1086 Norfolk VA 44221
Sears Full-Line, 921 Eastchester Dr Ste 1002 High Point NC 27262
Sears Full-Line, 2121 N Monroe St Space 300 Monroe MI 38671
Sears Full-Line, 1722 Veterans Blvd Mccomb MS 39648
Sears Full-Line, 1404 Old Aberdeen Rd Columbus MS 39705
Sears Full-Line, 2109 S Scatterfield Rd Anderson IN 46016
Sears Full-Line, 1357 S Main St Adrian MI 49221
Sears Full-Line, 5167 Hwy 70 Cypress Bay Plaza; Suite 90 Morehead City NC 28557
Sears Full-Line, 2727 Iowa St Lawrence KS 66046
Sears Full-Line, 1400 Nw Garden Valley Blvd #1 Roseburg OR 97470
Sears Full-Line, 200 Paul Huff Pkwy Nw Cleveland TN 37312
Sears Full-Line, 1057 Broad St Sumter SC 29150
Sears Full-Line, 363 S Illinois Ave Oak Ridge TN 37830
Sears Full-Line, 1250 S Hover Rd Longmont CO 80501
Sears Full-Line, 351 W Schuylkill Rd Pottstown PA 19465
Sears Full-Line, 1801 Nw Us Highway 19 Crystal River FL 34428
Sears Full-Line, 1631 W Rose St Ste 2 Walla Walla WA 99362
Sears Full-Line, 1100 N Wesleyan Blvd Rocky Mount NC 27804
Sears Full-Line, 1689 E Broad St Statesville NC 28677
Kmart, 17625 Chillicothe Rd Chagrin Falls OH 44023
Kmart, 951 By-Pass Rd Winchester KY 40391
Kmart, 2601 S Main St Rice Lake WI 54868
Kmart, 2960 Derr Road Springfield - N'land OH 45503
Kmart, 51027 Highway #6 Glenwood Springs CO 81601
Kmart, 1605 Buford Highway Buford GA 30518
Kmart, 101 Town & Country Lane Hazard KY 41701
Kmart, 1525 Sadler Road Fernandina Beach FL 32034
Kmart, 225 S Tyndall Pkwy Callaway FL 32404
Kmart, 66011 Van Dyke Washington Twp. MI 48095
Kmart, 9550 Wicker St. John IN 46373
Kmart, 1724 State Road 44 New Smyrna Beach FL 32069
Kmart, 1605 S First Street Willmar MN 56201
Kmart, 50700 Gratiot Ave North Chesterfield Twp. MI 48051
Kmart, 9552 Highway 5 Douglasville GA 30135
Kmart, 237 East Main Hendersonville TN 37075
Kmart, 5005 W 120th Broomfield CO 80020
Kmart, 1777 U S 1 South St. Augustine FL 32086
Kmart, 2047 E University Drive Auburn AL 36830
Kmart, 75 E Broad St Gadsden AL 35903
Kmart, 2727 16th Ave S W Cedar Rapids-16th Av IA 52404
Kmart, 2244 S Reynolds Rd Toledo - Reynolds Rd OH 43614
Kmart, 627-701 E Manhattan Blvd Toledo - Manhatn Blv OH 43608
Kmart, 7201 Pendleton Pike Indy - Pendlton Plza IN 46226
Kmart, 230 Cleveland Ave S W Atlanta GA 30315
Kmart, 1105 North Court Street Medina OH 44256
Kmart, 810 Saxon Blvd Orange City FL 32763
Kmart, 5600 Milgen Rd - Bldg 106 Columbs-Manch Sq GA 31907
Kmart, 7965 Tara Boulevard Jonesboro GA 30236
Kmart, 11003 Hull St Rd Midlothian VA 23113
Kmart, 3616 W Kimberly Rd Davenprt-Kimbrly Rd IA 52806
Kmart, 2421 N Federal Hwy Pompano Beach FL 33064
Kmart, 4141 Martin Way Lacey WA 98516
Kmart, 3100 Hamilton Rd Columbus - Hamltn Rd OH 43227
Kmart, 1734 Mall Dr Duluth - Mall Dr MN 55811
Kmart, 4300 Xylon N New Hope MN 55428
Kmart, 3201 White Bear Ave White Bear Lake MN 55110
Kmart, 6807 Midlothian Turnpike Richmond - Midloth VA 23225

Sears to close 100 to 120 Kmart, Sears stores

Sears Holdings Corp. plans to close between 100 and 120 Sears and Kmart stores after poor sales during the holidays, the most crucial time of year for retailers.

The closings are the latest and most visible in a long series of moves to try to fix a retailer that has struggled with falling sales and shabby stores.

In an internal memo Tuesday to employees, CEO and President Lou D'Ambrosio said that the retailer had not "generated the results we were seeking during the holiday."

Sears Holdings (SHLD) said it has yet to determine which stores will close but said it will post on http://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 fell $7.88, or 17%, to $37.97 in premarket trading.

The company's revenue at stores open at least a year fell 5.2% to date for the quarter at both Sears and Kmart, the company said Tuesday. That includes the critical holiday shopping period.

Sears Holdings 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 reporter for the same quarter last year.

Sears Holdings 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.

"These actions will better enable us to focus our investments on serving our customers," D'Ambrosio said.

The weaker-than-expected performance reflect what analysts say is a deteriorating outlook for the retailer.

The results point to "deepening problems at this struggling chain and renewed worries about Sears survivability," said Gary Balter, an analyst at Credit Suisse. "The extent of the weakness may be larger than expected but the reasons behind it are not. It begins and some would argue ends with Sears' reluctance to invest in stores and service."

The company has seen rival department stores like Macy's Inc. and discounters like Target Corp. continue to steal customers. It's also contending with a stronger Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, which has hammered hard its low-price message and brought back services like layaway, which allows financially stressed shoppers to finance their holiday purchases by paying a little at a time.

The tough economy hasn't helped, either. Middle-income shoppers, the company's core customers, have seen their wages fail to keep up with higher costs for household basics like food.

But the big problem, analysts say, is Sears hasn't invested in remodeling, leaving its stores uninviting.

"There's no reason to go to Sears," said New York-based independent retail analyst Brian Sozzi, "It offers a depressing shopping experience and uncompetitive prices."

Sears Holdings Corp., based in Hoffman Estates, Ill., said that the store closings will generate $140 to $170 million in cash from inventory sales. The retailer expects the sale or sublease of real estate holdings to add more cash.

Sears Holdings appeared to stumble early in the holiday season, as it opened its Sears, Roebuck and Co. stores at 4 a.m. on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Rivals including Best Buy Co., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Toys R Us opened as early as Thanksgiving night. Sears stores had opened on Thanksgiving Day in 2010. Kmart has been opening on Thanksgiving for years.

A hint that trouble might be brewing came in mid-December when Sears Holdings unexpectedly announced that 260 of its Sears, Roebuck and Co. locations would stay open until midnight through Dec. 23.

Kmart's 4.4% decline in revenue at stores open at least a year was blamed on diminished layaways and a drop in clothing and consumer electronics sales. Part of Kmart's layaway softness likely stemmed from competitive pressure. Wal-Mart had said that its holiday layaway business had been popular. Toys R Us expanded its layaway services to include more items. Kmart's grocery sales climbed during the period.

Sears cited lackluster consumer electronics and home appliance sales for its 6% dropoff. Sears' clothing sales were flat. Sales of Lands' End products at Sears stores rose in the mid-single digits.

Sears Holdings said it also plans to lower its fixed costs by $100 million to $200 million and trim its 2012 peak domestic inventory by $300 million from 2011's $10.2 billion at the third quarter's end.

D'Ambrosio acknowledged in his internal memo that criticism over Sears Holdings' performance was likely to come, but that the company was prepared for the days ahead.

"We will bounce back and become stronger than ever," he said.

Tax breaks could determine fate of Sears' headquarters

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – If Sears Holdings moves its headquarters to another state, it would be catastrophic to this Chicago suburb, says Mayor William McLeod.

"Our office vacancy rate would be 59%," he says. Besides the 6,100 jobs at Sears' main offices, 9,000 ancillary jobs in the area would vanish, he says. McLeod is urging the Illinois General Assembly to approve an extension of state income tax credits and local property tax breaks to keep the retailer here.

Continuing Sears' tax breaks would be devastating, says Superintendent Michael Bregy of School District 300 in neighboring Carpentersville. The district has lost more than $100 million in local tax revenue since the original deal reduced Sears' property tax burden, he says, leading to budget cuts and high school classrooms jammed with up to 45 students.

Sears' incentives, he says, are being put "on the backs of the kids in our school district."

The issue could be decided when the General Assembly meets Tuesday. State Sen. Dan Kotowski, a Democrat, says the latest version of legislation would require the company to employ at least 4,250 people at its headquarters and repay the money if it fails to do so or leaves Illinois. The bill also would increase tax revenue to school districts and other taxing districts, he says.

"We need to do whatever we can to save jobs," Kotowski says.

The stakes are high as Illinois tries to cut its 10% unemployment rate and cope with an $11 billion budget deficit. The state has lost several employers to other states since corporate income tax rates increased Jan. 1 from 7.3% to 9.5%.

Sears spokesman Chris Brathwaite says everyone is eager "to see this come to a happy ending." The company needs the extension, he says, because when current incentives expire next year, Sears will have recouped only $75 million of the $200 million it spent on infrastructure here.

Sears "has received (relocation) proposals from nearly a third of the states," Brathwaite says. "Clearly, other states, and Illinois for that matter, see value in this company."

Incentives get second look

Some states are re-examining incentives as the unemployment crisis intensifies competition for employers, says Robin Boyle, an urban planning professor at Michigan's Wayne State University. "We're seeing a new day in terms of incentivization of business that is less generous" and gives more discretion to governments, he says. Activity elsewhere:

•Florida might ask companies that received incentives but didn't produce the promised number of jobs to reimburse the state. The state recently released details of 1,521 tax breaks and payments to companies since 1995. The incentives were supposed to generate 224,286 new jobs; 73,669 were created.

"When the people of our state are digging into their pockets to provide these tax incentives, we want to be sure they don't get ripped off," says Senate President-designate Don Gaetz, a Republican.

•The Oklahoma Legislature created a task force that's considering requiring the state auditor to examine every tax credit, from its draft stages to a year-to-year assessment after it is approved.

Legislation changing the process could be filed within 60 days, says Rep. Charles Key, a Republican who serves on the economic development committee. "When is it right for me and you and the average taxpayer to pay a larger share, which is what happens?" he asks. "It's never right and when times are tough it doesn't make any sense."

•In the past year, 15 companies that received tax credits from the state of Iowa created or saved 620 of the 904 jobs they promised, The Des Moines Register reported this month.

Indiana Commerce Secretary Daniel Hasler says incentives are just one tool that helped his state recruit more than 200 companies this year. "The tax incentives we offer are really icing on the cake," he says, and companies "receive them only after they have hired and paid a Hoosier."

Dublin, Ohio, this month approved incentives to keep Socius, a software consulting company, in the city until at least 2016. The deal requires the company to retain 23 jobs and create 13.

City Manager Marsha Grigsby says it's important not to "give too much away" when competing for employers. "The whole reason you want the companies here is for the tax base," she says.

Illinois roots

Sears was founded in 1886 and moved to Chicago in 1887. In 1989, the state gave the company incentives to discourage it from leaving Illinois. The company moved to Hoffman Estates in 1992, but its name remained on its iconic downtown skyscraper even after it vacated the building.

The Sears Tower was renamed the Willis Tower in 2009 as part of a leasing deal with Willis Group Holdings, an insurance brokerage.

Brathwaite acknowledges that company officials have visited potential headquarters sites in Texas and Ohio. They and other states "have made some great proposals," he says.

Bregy has participated in negotiations that he hopes will lead to a deal that shifts some money to school districts. If that doesn't happen, he says, "We don't know how we're going to survive."

McLeod's priority is keeping people working in this village of 51,895. "I'm dealing with reality here," he says. Sears "is by far our largest employer. … I'm looking at an enormous loss of jobs."