Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based Transformco, the parent company of Kmart and now more a hedge-fund controlled real estate salvage operation than a retailer is continuing with its 2019 restructuring plan announced when the company purchased Sears and Kmart from the bankruptcy court.
The company will be closing it White Plains, New York store leaving 16 remaining locations of the iconic Kmart megastores after a liquidation sale taking place through November 2021. The company declines to cite the number of layoffs, but it is likely that the liquidators will hire temporary help before shutting the doors.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, both Sears and Kmart were struggling with large outdated stores that could not compete with smaller specialty stores and online retailers that were driving shifting consumer buying patterns.
The Kmart brand is likely to survive as Transformco implements its "go-forward store strategy for Sears and Kmart, planning to operate a diversified portfolio consisting of a small number of larger, premier stores with a larger number of small-format stores -- including the more than 300 Hometown Stores and Home & Life stores that are currently operated by independent dealers or franchisees of an affiliate of Transformco."
The red flags are flying in retail and careers with major stores are coming to an end. Sears and Kmart have closed more than 3,500 stores and cut about 250,000 jobs since 2006 in a declining spiral.
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?
