Charles City Kmart closing is official; to be shuttered by February

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The closing of Charles City’s Kmart store became official last Friday as the parent company, Transformco, released a list of 96 Sears and Kmart stores that will be closed, including the Charles City location.

As the Press had reported first on Wednesday, employees at the store in Charles City as well as the Kmart in Algona — the last two Kmarts in the state of Iowa — said they had received word that the stores would be closing.

In a press release issued Friday, Transformco listed 45 Kmart stores and 51 Sears stores that will close.
Going-out-of-business sales in these stores will begin Dec. 2, and the stores are expected to close by Feb. 2020.

In addition to the two in Iowa, stores are closing in Arkansas, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming.

“Since purchasing substantially all the assets of Sears Holdings Corporation in February 2019, Transformco has faced a difficult retail environment and other challenges,” the company said in its statement.

“We have been working hard to position Transformco for success by focusing on our competitive strengths and pruning operations that have struggled due to increased competition and other factors. …

“As part of this process, we have made the difficult but necessary decision to streamline our operations and close 96 Sears and Kmart stores. …”

Following these closures, Transformco will operate 182 stores, the company said, although it added that it will “continue to evaluate our Sears and Kmart footprint, consistent with our overall retail and service strategy.”