Sears To Shutter Downtown Chicago Store Amid Decline In Sales

Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) plans to close its money-losing namesake location in downtown Chicago, reducing its physical presence in the city as it shrinks its store network and divests assets amid a decline in sales.

Sears will shutter the store at 2 N. State St. in Chicago’s Loop business district in April, Howard Riefs, a spokesman, said yesterday in an e-mail. The store employs about 160 mainly part-time staff and those eligible will receive severance and be able to apply for positions in the company’s other stores in the Chicago area, he said.

“The store has lost millions of dollars since opening and we can no longer continue to support the store’s operating losses,” said Riefs.

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