HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., March 16 (UPI) -- Sears Holding Corp. said Friday it will close 53 home improvement stores but hasn't revealed the locations of the doomed outlets.
"They are primarily independently owned and operated. We will not be putting out a list any time soon," said Sears spokeswoman Kimberly Freely, referring to a list of specific stores.
The Chicago Tribune reported the closures include 43 hometown dealer stores, which are generally small rural hardware stores that are independently operated.
In addition, 10 Sears Hardware stores that carry a lineup of Craftsman tools and some Kenmore appliances are to close.
Sears, based in Hoffman Estates near Chicago, had already said it would close 120 Sears and Kmart outlets and shut down its Great Indoor stores, which were larger home-improvement stores that never caught on.
The company still operates about 3,500 stores including 1,300 Kmart outlets, 867 Sears stores and 1,300 special format stores, the Tribune said.
