Sears to close 100 to 120 Kmart and Sears stores

This May 4, 2011 file photo shows the entrance to the Sears Holdings Corp. Prairie Stone campus area in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

NEW YORK » Sears Holdings Corp. plans to close between 100 and 120 Sears and Kmart stores to raise cash after a weak holiday shopping season for the retailer.

The closings fueled speculation about whether the 125-year-old retailer can turn itself around.

The closings are the latest and most visible in a long series of moves to try to fix a company that has struggled with falling sales and shabby stores as rivals like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. spruced up their looks and turned into one-stop shopping sources.

Billionaire investor Edward Lampert purchased Kmart out of bankruptcy in 2003Toys R Us found success with their own layaway programs, which allow financially stressed shoppers to finance their holiday purchases by paying a little at a time.

Both Kmart and Sears stores reported weak consumer electronics sales. Sears, whose same-store revenue dropped 6 percent, also reported softer sales of home appliances. The same-store revenue metric is a key gauge of a retailer's health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.

Sears Holdings appeared to stumble early in the holiday season, as it opened its Sears, Roebuck and Co. stores at 4 a.m. on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Rivals including Best Buy Co., Wal-Mart and Toys R Us opened as early as Thanksgiving night. Sears stores had opened on Thanksgiving Day in 2010. Kmart has been