The company's retail formats include 140 ShopKo stores, selling diverse merchandise such as apparel, home entertainment products and groceries, along with pharmacy and optical services in mid-sized to larger cities; 220 Pamida stores, 113 of which contain pharmacies, located in rural communities; and three ShopKo Express Rx stores, a new drugstore concept for the company.

"The ShopKo's division's comp-store sales for the quarter declined 5.8% due in part to a planned reduction in promotional activities," said president and CEO Sam Duncan during Thursday's earnings conference call. "Our strengths were sporting goods, active shoes, accessories, optical and women's plus apparel. Our women's apparel is gaining traction. Categories with disappointing sales included linens, home entertainment and consumables. Our retail health division—pharmacy and optics—posted positive comps at 0.5% for the fourth quarter, aided by optical sales."

As for Pamida, comp sales in Q4 increased 0.2% compared with the previous year, with strengths in groceries, toys and hardware, Duncan noted. "Disappointing sales included sporting goods, houseware, stationery and apparel," he said, adding that the company, like many in the retail business now, saw some sales migrate from December to January, when customers redeemed gift cards.