Pasco County is losing yet another Kmart store, and it’s going to affect nearly 70 jobs in Zephyrhills.
Sears Holdings Corp., the parent company of Kmart, told The Laker/Lutz News it will close its location at 7422 Gall Blvd., in early December. A liquidation sale began Sunday, and will continue for the next two months as the location gets ready to shut its doors.
A second location is reportedly being closed in New Port Richey as well.
Although he didn’t say how many stores were being closed, a Sears spokesman said store closures were “part of a series of actions we’re taking to reduce ongoing expenses,” as well as transform the company’s business model.
“These actions will better enable us to focus our investments on serving our customers and members through integrated retail — at the store, online and in the home,” said Sears spokesman Howard Riefs, in a statement.
The other Kmart location on this side of Pasco County, located at 22920 State Road 54 in Lutz, will not be affected by the closing, Riefs said.
The Kmart location in Zephyrhills currently has 68 employees, and those associates will receive severance packages if they are eligible, Riefs said. They also will have the chance to apply for open positions in other Sears or Kmart stores. Most of the jobs being lost are part-time or hourly.
Sears has closed a number of stores so far this year, including 46 nationwide during the second quarter, according to its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In total, 75 Kmarts had closed through the first half of 2014, as well as 21 Sears stores. In the first half of 2013, 27 Kmarts and 10 Sears were closed.
Kmart had sales of $2.9 billion in the most recent sales quarter, compared to $3.2 billion the year before. The company lost $142 million during that time compared to a $56 million loss the year before.
