New Long Island Sears, Kmart Closings Announced

A spokesperson for Sears Holdings said 46 additional unprofitable stores, including two on Long Island, 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 Aug. 30 at the stores.

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 Sears located at 1400 Union Turnpike in New Hyde Park and the Kmart located at 605 Old Country Road in Riverhead are among the latest closures to the be announced.

The impacted employees — the final number of which wasn’t 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 release. “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 Kmart and Sears stores.

It's just the latest round of closures for the beleaguered company.

A Sears store in Hicksville closed in April and a Kmart store in West Babylon is set to close in September.

Photo credit: David Allen/Patch