Sears Identifies 79 Stores to be Closed

Sears Holdings has identified 79 of the 100 to 120 stores that it plans to close.  The company said the stores each employed from 40 to 80 people.  Sears said earlier this week that poor holiday sales contributed to the decision to begin stores that have not been profitable.

The rest of the closings will be announced soon, the company said.

"Given our performance and the difficult economic environment, especially for big-ticket items, we intend to implement a series of actions to reduce ongoing expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model,” said Sears Holdings CEO Lou D'Ambrosio.

“These actions will better enable us to focus our investments on serving our customers and members through integrated retail -- at the store, online and in the home.”