Sears will close 28 more Kmart stores, including four in California

Sears Holdings Corp. said Thursday that it will close 28 additional Kmart stores nationwide, including four in California, as the retailer continues to struggle with declining sales.

All 28 of the stores, except one in Florida, will close in mid-November, with liquidation sales coming as early as the end of this month, the Hoffman Estates, Ill., retailer said in a statement.

The California stores that will close are located at:

• 10400 Rosecrans Ave., Bellflower
• 16968 Main St., Hesperia
• 23222 W. Valencia Blvd., Valencia
• 10500 Wicklow Way, Jackson

Eligible employees affected by the store closures are to receive severance.

The company said it will continue to “transform” its business model so the number of its physical stores, as well as its online presence, matches shoppers’ needs and preferences.

Already, Sears has closed 180 stores this year. An additional 150 stores that were slated for closure are set to shut by the end of next quarter.

The news of the closures came as Sears reported its second-quarter earnings.

The company reported Thursday that its second-quarter loss narrowed to $251 million, or $2.34 per share. Losses, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $1.16 per share. Revenue fell 23% to $4.37 billion.

Sales at stores open at least a year, a key measure of a retailer’s health, dropped 11.5%. At Kmart, the measure dropped 9.4%, while at Sears stores, that figure was down 13.2%.

“The retail environment remained challenging,” the company said in a statement.

Sears shares slipped 0.2% on Thursday to $8.55.

Information from the Associated Press was used in compiling this report.

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UPDATES:

2:40 p.m.: This article was updated with Sears’ stock movement.

This article was originally published at 8:55 a.m.