Sears, Kmart Demise Would Hit Western Pennsylvania Hard

The future of Sears and Kmart is in doubt, but one thing is certain: the two chains’ demise would leave plenty of empty retail space in Western Pennsylvania.

Sears Holdings, which operates both stores, provided a grim prognosis for the company on Tuesday. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sears Holdings revealed it soon might lack the money to buy the inventory needed to stock its shelves.

"Our historical operating results indicate substantial doubt exists related to the company's ability to continue as a going concern," the filing stated.

Sears has five stores in Western Pennsylvania, including one at South Hills Village. The others are at Ross Park Mall, Robinson Town Center, Westmoreland Mall and Washington Crown Center.

Kmart has 11 Western Pennsylvania locations, including one in Pleasant Hills. The other stores are in West View, Butler, North Versailles, Bridgeville, New Kensington, McMurray, Moon, Leechburg, Belle Vernon and Latrobe.

Sears has shuttered four Western Pennsylvania locations in recent years: Wilkins in 2013, Century II Mall in 2014, Pittsburgh Mills in 2015 and Clearview Mall last year. Those locations remain vacant.

Kmart last year closed stores in Ross, Butler, Beaver Falls, Edgewood and Uniontown.

Photo by Mike Mozart via Creative Commons.