Sears Closing 2 NH Stores

MANCHESTER, NH — Sears will close two New Hampshire stores for good soon. A spokesperson for Sears Holdings this week said 46 additional unprofitable stores nationwide will be shuttered in November as the gasping retail giant tries to "streamline" operations, improve its capital position and focus on the most successful stores. Liquidation sales will begin as early as August 30 at the stores.

The Sears stores in Manchester at The Mall of New Hampshire and in Salem at The Mall at Rockingham Park are slated to close.

Over the past year, the chain announced the closures of more than 160 Sears and Kmart locations. Sears reported a net loss of $424 million during the first quarter of 2018.

The latest impacted employees — the final number of which was not immediately available — were informed of the imminent closures this week.

"We continue to evaluate our network of stores, which is a critical component to our integrated retail transformation, and will make further adjustments as needed," the company said in a statement. "We thank associates affected by these store closures for their many contributions to our company."

Some workers will receive severance and be able to apply for open positions at nearby Kmartand Sears stores. Customers can use the store locator function on the Sears website to find those locations.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this story

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