Sears Pulls Out Of Its Home State, Closing The Last Store In This City

Sears is upending its roots in Illinois by shuttering the last store it has open in its home state.

The retailer is closing its Woodfield Mall location in Schaumburg, Illinois, on Nov. 14 – a Simon Property Group property, CNBC reported.

A spokesperson for Sears and Kmart's parent company, Transformco, told CNBC that the company will look to redevelop the location with a new tenant as it also manages the real estate space.

Sears Holdings filed for bankruptcy protection in October 2018 and was acquired by former CEO Eddie Lampert’s hedge fund ESL in a $5.2 billion deal in 2019. Under the newly formed Transformco, dozens of Sears and Kmart stores have closed.

According to the retailers’ website, just 35 Sears stores remain, and 22 Kmart locations are still open.

In a statement obtained by CNBC, Transformco said, “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.”

Sears opened its doors in Chicago in the 1890s and was once the largest retailer in the U.S. with thousands of stores. At the time of its bankruptcy, there were 687 Sears and Kmart stores, down from 1,672 in January 2016, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The Woodfield Mall opened about 50 years ago, with Sears as one of its first anchor stores.

According to the news outlet, Transformco has plans to open and expand its Hometown Stores and Home & Life stores in cities and towns that used to have larger Sears or Kmart stores.