Sears gets out of "Great Indoors"

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.— Sears quietly added all nine of its Great Indoors stores to the list of store closings on Feb. 23.

Store managers were informed last week, a Sears spokeswoman confirmed, but no exact date has been given for the closings.

The upscale remodeling and home décor stores began opening in 1998, long before the Sears and Kmart merger. At one point, Sears operated 20 of the units, but they were never a big moneymaker for the company.

The nine remaining stores are located in Scottsdale and Chandler Ariz.; Lone Tree, Colo.; Lombard, Ill.; Gaithersburg, Md.; Novi, Mich.; Columbus, Ohio; Farmers Branch and Houston, Texas.

After posting a $2.4 billion loss for its fourth fiscal quarter, parent company Sears Holdings announced it would divest some of its real estate portfolio to help bolster its retail operation. This included some of its smaller Hometown and Outlet stores for $400 to $500 million as well as some hardware stores, as well as 11 stores to mall owner General Growth Properties to raise $270 million. That deal, which includes stores that are currently located on GGP properties, is expected to close in April.

An updated list of Sears and Kmart store closings, part of a plan announced in late December to eventually close 100 to 120 stores, can be found here.