Sears’ last store in its home state to close

It will soon be lights out for the last Sears store in Illinois.

The store, located at Woodfield Mall in Schaumberg, Ill., is scheduled to close on Nov.14. Located just down the street from the company's corporate headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Sears was an original anchor tenant when Woodfield opened 50 years ago. The news about the closing was reported by various Chicago media outlets, including The Daily Herald.

Sears parent company Transformco, which bought Sears Holdings out of bankruptcy in early 2019, plans to maximize the value of the property through a redevelopment.

“This is part of the company’s strategy to unlock the value of the real estate and pursue the highest and best use for the benefit of the local community,” Transformco said.

The company has not finalized plans for the redevelopment of its property at Woodfield, but said it’s in “active negotiations with best-of-class retailers,” according to the report.

"With redevelopment of this location focused primarily on retail use, we intend to reinvigorate and maximize the value of the real estate while enhancing the consumer experience with popular retailers that fit the regional draw of Woodfield Mall," Scott Carr, president of real estate, Transformco, said in the announcement.

Transformco has been quietly — and steadily — closing Sears and Kmart stores since it acquired Sears Holdings. (At the time of the acquisition, the company had some 400 stores.).  According to the retailers’ websites, there are currently 35 Sears locations, including the one at Woodfield Mall, and 22 Kmart stores.

The last Kmart store in Manhattan, in the city’s Greenwich Village area, closed its doors in June. Wegmans Food Markets will open its first store in Manhattan on the former Kmart site.

[Read More: Wegmans to open its first store in Manhattan on site of recently closed Kmart]