Friends of Little Theater of Wilkes-Barre hosting Marvel-ous Captain America themed fundraiser

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Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Mellencamp coming to Wilkes-Barre’s F.M. Kirby Center October 14

<p>NEW YORK &#8212; Sears Holdings Corp. will close another78 stores &#8212;68 Kmart units, and 10 Sears stores &#8212; as it looks to restore profitability.</p><p>That accounts for about 5 percent of its store base, which is nearly 1,700 stores.</p><p>The ailing company, based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, had said in February that it would accelerate the closing of unprofitable stores following a &#8220;challenging&#8221; holiday season. The move announced Thursday is expected to generate a &#8220;meaningful level&#8221; of cash from the liquidation of store inventories and from the sale or sublease of some of the related real estate, it said Thursday.</p><p>All 10 Sears stores and nearly all the Kmart stores will close in late July. Two Kmart stores will close in mid-September.</p><p>&#8220;The decision to close stores is a difficult but necessary step as we take aggressive actions to strengthen our company, fund our transformation and restore Sears Holdings to profitability,&#8221; said Edward S. Lampert, chairman and CEO of Sears Holdings in a statement. &#8220;We&#8217;re focusing on our best members, our best categories, and our best stores as we work to accelerate our transformation.&#8221;</p><p>The closings follow a comprehensive review of the company&#8217;s locations that took into account store performance and the timing of lease expirations.</p><p>Sears Holdings has struggled for years with weakening sales, unable to keep up with companies that sell appliances, like Home Depot, or general merchandise, like Wal-Mart, or everything, as is the case with Amazon.com. The company has been selling assets to raise cash. In 2011, it operated 4,000 stores. Sears is also shifting away from its focus on running a store network into a member-focused business. Loyal shoppers receive incentives to buy. But those moves haven&#8217;t gained much traction with shoppers.</p><p>In the fourth quarter, which includes the holiday shopping season, revenue at stores opened at least a year fell 6.9 percent at Sears, and 7.2 percent at Kmart. That&#8217;s a key indicator of a retailer&#8217;s health because it excludes the volatility from stores that recently opened or closed. The company saw its fourth-quarter loss widen to $580 million, from a $159 million loss a year ago.</p><p>Sears declined to say how many workers will be affected from the store closures, but it said that an overwhelming majority of the jobs are part-time positions. Eligible associates will receive severance and will have the chance to apply for open positions at area Sears or Kmart stores.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">In this Nov. 15, 2011 photo, customers enter a Sears store, in Springfield, Ill. Sears Holdings Corp. will close another78 stores &#8212;68 Kmart units, and 10 Sears stores &#8212; as it looks to restore profitability. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/web1_AP_111115029709.jpg</photo0><caption0>In this Nov. 15, 2011 photo, customers enter a Sears store, in Springfield, Ill. Sears Holdings Corp. will close another78 stores &#8212;68 Kmart units, and 10 Sears stores &#8212; as it looks to restore profitability. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By The Associated Press</p></bylineMeta></div>

Nearly 80 Sears, Kmart stores to close this summer