Kmart stores in Kent County closing

“The store will begin its liquidation sale on September 22”.

“We can confirm that we are making the hard, but necessary decision to close the Kmart store at 802 East 27th Street in Scottsbluff”, said Corporate Director Howard Riefs.

10, 2014, Sears Holdings Corp. announced that it detected a data breach at its Kmart stores that started in August 2014, affecting certain customers’ credit and debit card accounts. Corporate officials said it was a hard but necessary decision.

“We have been strategically and aggressively evaluating our store space and productivity, and will be accelerating the closing of unprofitable stores as we have previously announced”, Riefs said in a statement to the Reporter-News.

Though the physical location is being shuttered, company officials say they hope to retain some of the sales from this region via online and mobile venues.

Due to poor sales numbers, the company’s 68th Street store in Byron Center and the North Kent Mall store on Plainfield Avenue NE will close indefinitely, according to Howard Riefs, director of corporate communications for Sears Holdings, Kmart’s parent company.

“We often hear from our members who are disappointed when we close a store”, he said in an email.

Sears, once an American icon of business and merchandising, has been struggling as a company for years. In 2011, it operated 4,000 stores. But those moves haven’t gained much traction with shoppers.

Kmart’s other West Michigan locations, including Muskegon, Greenville and Battle Creek, will remain open.