Corbin, London Kmart stores to close in early 2017

Sears has announced another round of store closures that will begin in early 2017, and on the list are six Kmart stores in Kentucky, including locations in London and Corbin.

The company informed its employees Tuesday of the latest closures.

“We can confirm that we are making the difficult, but necessary decision to close the Kmart stores at 1710 W. Highway 192 in London and at 14662 N US Highway 25 E in Corbin,” Howard Riefs, Director of Corporate Communications for Sears Holdings, confirmed in an e-mail Thursday afternoon.

“The stores will close to the public in mid-April. Until then, the stores will remain open for customers. The stores will begin their liquidation sale on January 6.”

The Corbin stored opened in October 1978 and the London store opened in October 1993.

Kmart declined to release information on the number of associates working at each store.

“Those associates that are eligible will receive severance and have the opportunity to apply for open positions at area Sears or Kmart stores. Most of the associates are part time/hourly,” Riefs noted in the e-mail.

Over 200 Kmart and Sears stores have been close this fiscal year. The company now operates about 1,500 stores. In 2011, it had roughly 3,500 locations.

The move came to offset revenue losses. According to Business Insider, Sears revenue has fallen 13 percent and same store sales have dropped about 7.4 percent. Sears owns Kmart brand stores.

Other Kmart locations closing in Kentucky include Owensboro, Bowling Green, Hopkinsville and Georgetown.