Sears announced Thursday that it will shutter 46 more stores nationally, including its Memorial City location in Houston. The closures, which will take place by November, are part of the struggling retailer's ongoing efforts to streamline its operations and focus its efforts on its best-performing stores, the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based company said.<doc-sep>Sears’ announcement Thursday that it will shutter a store in one of Houston’s top-performing malls caught local retail experts and shoppers by surprise, even as the embattled retailer has shed hundreds of locations in recent years to stay afloat. “Memorial City is one of their best stores in town,” Ed Wulfe, chairman and CEO of Houston retail firm Wulfe & Co., said. “I would have thought they would have closed others before they closed this one.” The Sears at Memorial City Mall became the latest casualty in the 125-year-old retailer’s ongoing efforts to streamline its operations, shore up capital and focus its energy on remaining stores. The Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based company said Thursday that it will close 46 more stores nationwide by November, including its Memorial City location in Houston and one in College Station. It’s the third round of store closures this year alone for the American retail institution whose mail-order roots made it the forerunner to e-commerce juggernaut Amazon. In January, Sears announced 100 store closures, followed by another 72 in May. Over the past three years, Sears has shuttered more than 500 stores, including West Oaks Mall in 2018 and Baybrook Mall, Westwood Mall and its longtime location in Midtown in 2017. The retailer years ago closed shop in Greenspoint Mall and The Woodlands Mall. Sears operates 894 Sears and Kmart stores nationally as of May 5, according to its most recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Eight Sears stores remain in the greater Houston region, including Willowbrook Mall, North Shepherd, Deerbrook Mall, San Jacinto Mall, Pasadena Town Square, Mall of the Mainland in Texas City, Parkdale Mall in Beaumont and Central Mall in Port Arthur. However, more closures may be likely as Sears has $133 million of debt coming due in October, Wall Street analysts said. The company lost more than $24 billion in market value since 2007, and its stock ended Thursday at $1.11, down from its April 2007 peak of $134.51. “We will continue to evaluate our network of stores, which is a critical component to our integrated retail transformation, and will make further adjustments as needed,” Sears said in a statement Thursday. The store closures come despite Sears’ herculean efforts to survive, Wulfe said. Eddie Lampert, Sears’ CEO and primary shareholder, has provided financing to keep Sears in operation, and the company has borrowed money to the hilt. Sears sold its Craftsman tool brand last year to Stanley Black & Decker for $900 million, and is looking to spin off its Kenmore and Diehard brands as well as its home and automotive businesses. Despite this, Sears last year expressed “substantial doubt” in its ability to survive amid the rise of big-box competitors such as Walmart and Target, and the growing popularity of online shopping. “Sears is struggling,” Wulfe said. “They do not appeal to millennials, and obviously, they haven’t adapted to online. They’re not on a good path.” Sears was one of the original tenants in the Memorial City shopping center when it opened in 1966. More than 10,000 shoppers stream through the 209,000-square-foot store each year to purchase clothes, appliances and tools. Sears spokesman Howard Riefs did not answer emailed questions about future plans for the Memorial City store after its expected closure in late October. Seritage, the real estate investment trust spun off from Sears, owns the property, which is appraised at $27.7 million, according to the Harris County Appraisal District. Wulfe said he believes Seritage will likely sell the Sears property to MetroNational, owner and developer of Memorial City and its mall. The property could be redeveloped into more retail, restaurants, entertainment or even high-rise projects, he said. MetroNational spokesman Mike O’Neill declined to comment. “I think MetroNational will seize the opportunity to reinvent the space,” Wulfe said. “If the Sears organization has anything of value, it’s their real estate.” Still, the store’s impending closure was met with a mix of surprise and sadness from shoppers, young and old, outside the store Thursday afternoon. “This is one of the bigger malls,” Mayra Estreada, 25, said as she left with new shoes for her 7-year-old daughter. “For it to be closed, it’s kind of sad. It’s been here forever.” Lynette Crawford, 66, was with her husband to return some Lands' End clothing that didn’t fit. In recent years, she has shopped increasingly online. But the Houston resident grew up shopping at the Memorial City Sears, where her father bought appliances and Craftsman tools. “That’s too bad,” Crawford said when she learned of its impending closure. “I remember as a little girl this was the place to be.” paul.takahashi@chron.com<doc-sep>HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Sears is closing its department store in Memorial City Mall as part of an ongoing nationwide effort to streamline operations.Sears Holdings announced more of its stores are going out of business. Forty-six Sears and Kmart stores will close nationwide in November.The company says it notified employees about the closing. "We thank associates affected by these store closures for their many contributions to our company," said a Sears Holdings spokesperson in a statement. "Eligible associates will receive severance and will have the opportunity to apply for open positions at area Kmart or Sears stores. "Liquidation sales start today.ABC13 Consumer Reporter Chelsey Hernandez went to the Memorial City location to look for deals.You'll find are between 10 and 40 percent off garden tools, baby furniture, and home fashion. Jewelry is marked down 70 percent.Chelsey said you'll have to wait before mattresses and appliances go on sale though.Meanwhile, Sears is hiring about 40 people to help with the liquidation.Earlier this year, the Midtown Sears closed the iconic location at 4201 Main Street.Sears Holdings also says other stores may close. The company has closed hundreds of stores as they have suffered from a decline in mall traffic. "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," said a company spokesperson.<doc-sep>
Sears Holdings is closing more stores. The company said this week it is shuttering 46 more stores in November. The locations are spread across the U.S. (See a full list below.) "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. Liquidation sales at the 33 Sears stores and 13 Kmarts are expected to begin next week, according to Sears. The company also said that eligible workers will receive severance and be able to apply for openings at other nearby stores. Sears said in January it was planning to shut more than 100 stores. It then announced another round of roughly 100 store closures in May. Sears was operating 894 stores as of May 5, which is the latest available total provided by the company. With CEO Eddie Lampert at the helm, Sears has been trimming its real estate footprint as sales dwindle at its stores and shoppers increasingly opt to ring up purchases online or outside of shopping malls. Sears is currently evaluating a bid from Lampert's hedge fund, ESL Investments, to buy the Kenmore appliance brand from Sears for $400 million. The company had previously sold its Craftsman tool brand. Sears is still testing new concepts, like stand-alone mattress stores and combined Sears and Kmart locations, but retail analysts say it will be hard for the company to bounce back from its dire situation. Sears shares have fallen more than 85 percent over the past 12 months, bringing the company's market cap to roughly $123 million, or less than Lampert is willing to pay for the Kenmore brand. The stock hit an all-time intraday low of $1.09 on Thursday morning.