3 Chicago Area Sears Stores Among 63 To Close Nationwide

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Three Chicago area Sears stores are slated to shut down by September, as part of the latest round of store closings for the department store chain.

On the heels of a $424 million loss in the first quarter of 2018, Sears has announced it is closing 63 Sears and Kmart stores nationwide. The company initially said it planned to close 72 stores in an earlier statement on Thursday, but said it is now further evaluating some of those closures.

Among the stores that will be closed in early September are the Sears stores in Aurora, Gurnee, and Vernon Hills. The Kmart in Rockford also will close, as will the Sears in Springfield.

Sears said liquidation sales at the closing stores will begin as soon as June 14.

"As part of our ongoing efforts to streamline the Company's operations and focus on our Best Stores, we have identified approximately 100 non‐profitable stores, many of which will begin store closing sales in the near future. We continue to evaluate our network of stores, which are a critical component in our transformation, and will make further adjustments as needed and as warranted," the company said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

The move comes less than five months after Sears announced at the start of the year that it would close more than 100 stores.

Over the past year, the company has shuttered nearly 400 stores, not including the 72 now facing closure.

When Sears and Kmart merged in 2005, they had a combined total of 3,500 stores. That number will be down to around 820 after the latest closures take place.