The Kmart, located at Watson Glen Shopping Center, began its going out of business liquidation last Sunday and will be totally closed for good sometime in May.
The store’s 33 employees will be given severance and the opportunity to apply for jobs available at other area Kmart or Sear stores, which is part of the same ownership—Hoffman Estates.
The company has been floundering for months, and stopped offering layaway last year. In January of 2014, Kmart posted a 5.7 percent decline in sales, which helped lead to the final decision, according to a company statement.
“Store closures are part of a series of actions we’re taking to reduce ongoing expenses, adjust our asset base and accelerate the transformation of our business model,” Howard Riefs, company spokesman, said in a statement.
Nationally, more than 120 Sears and Kmart stores closed their doors since 2012.
“I loved Kmart, as an alternative to the other big-box chains,” Angela Matula, a Franklin resident who was shopping this past weekend, said as she picked through the dolls looking for a gift for her niece.
“I grew up next to a Kmart and I have a lot of fond memories of the store and finding bargains there that I did not anywhere else.”
“I will miss it.”
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