Sears Holdings Closes Eight Stores in FL

(Crystal Proenza is associate editor of Real Estate Florida.)

ST. PETERSBURG, FL-During 2008, Sears Holdings Corp. announced that they’d be closing 28 Kmart, Super K, Sears Grand and Sears Essentials stores nationwide, including three located in Florida. Now, the Hoffman Estates, IL-based retailer has added another 24 locations to be vacated, five of which are Kmart/Essentials located in Florida. The company could not disclose additional information about why these locations were chosen, or the exact size of each store. According to the company’s full-year results for 2008, Sears saw a net income of $360 million in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared to net income of $426 million in the fourth quarter of 2007.

A spokesperson tells GlobeSt.com that the average Southeast Kmart is about 90,000 square feet and each one employs anywhere from 50 to 100 individuals. Most of the locations are leased, a fact that will no doubt deal another big box blow to shopping centers.