CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Sears will close its large stores at the Town Center Mall in Charleston and the Meadowbrook Mall in Bridgeport and Kmart stores in Elkins, Weirton and Parkersburg by April, a corporate spokesman said Wednesday.
“We can confirm that we are making the difficult, but necessary decision to close the Sears store and Sears Auto Center at Town Center Mall in Charleston,” Howard Riefs, director of Sears Corporate Communications told MetroNews in an email.
Riefs later confirmed the Meadowbrook Mall store is closing. The Sears Auto Center at Meadowbrook will remain open.
The stores will close to the public in mid-April. The liquidation sale begins Jan. 6.
“We have been strategically and aggressively evaluating our store space and productivity, and will be accelerating the closing of unprofitable stores as we have previously announced,” Riefs said.
Sears also announced Wednesday plans to close Kmart stores in Elkins, Weirton at South Parkersburg roughly within the same time period.
Sears isn’t releasing how many people work at the locations, Riefs said.
“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,” the statement said.
Sears said it hopes to maintain its relationships with its customers through its other platforms including its website.
Sears has been one of Town Center’s four anchor stores since the large mall opened in 1983. The Meadowbrook Mall opened in 1982.
“Sears has always been part of lives,” Charleston Mayor Danny Jones said.
Sears and Roebuck was first located on Summers Street in downtown Charleston before moving to a building on Kanawha Boulevard and then to the mall location.
“It’s not good news because they will have to lay off some employees. Hopefully, something great will take its place,” Jones said.
In a prepared statement from Town Center Mall owner Forest City, the company expressed disappointment with Sears’ decision but said it looked forward to a new opportunity.
“While the closure will be unfortunate for those directly affected, we believe it will create opportunity for Charleston Town Center through creative re-purposing of the store space, and will enable us to welcome new retailers and other potential tenants who could not previously be accommodated given space limitations at the center. While there are no specific plans to announce at this time, we will keep the market updated as appropriate,” the statement said.
With the Sears closing, Town Center only has two anchor stores J.C. Penneys and Macy’s. The fourth anchor store space was converted into a home for BrickStreet Insurance several years ago. WOWK Television is also located in that space.
Jones said he knew Sears was in trouble when it closed its third floor at Town Center six months ago. He said he’s not worried about finding a replacement especially with the Charleston Civic Center across the street undergoing an $18 million renovation project.
“I’m very sure there will be either one entity or multiples of entities that will locate in that particular area,” he said. “I’m not crazy about a retail outlet closing but in the end I think it will be okay.”
After the two Sears stores close the company will have operations at the Crossroads Mall in Beckley, the Huntington Mall in Barboursville, the Morgantown Mall in Westover and the Grand Central Mall in Vienna. There are smaller Sears Hometown stores in Martinsburg, Teays Valley, Huntington, Summersville, Elkins, Ronceverte, Logan, Ripley, Fairmont and Harpers Ferry.
Morgantown Mall officials released a statement confirming Sears is remaining open there.
“Sears at Morgantown Mall remains open for business. Shoppers can enjoy the popular store as well as other nationally recognized and locally owned retailers.” – Harry Grandon, General Manager of Morgantown Mall.
There are more than a dozen Kmarts still operating in the Mountain State.