CHICAGO — Sears Holdings’ announcements about its stores have typically involved closures in recent years, with the company cutting more than half its Kmart and Sears locations since 2010.
But at Sears’ annual meeting with shareholders Wednesday, Chairman and CEO Edward Lampert said the retailer is planning a new opening next week: a smaller-format store in Fort Collins, Colo., focused on appliances.
J.C. Penney announced this week it’s introducing appliance showrooms this summer after a nearly 30-year absence.
The new Sears store will be much smaller than a typical Sears, at just 7,000 to 10,000 square feet, and will bring many of Sears’ online services in-store, Lampert said. A typical Sears averages 138,000 square feet.
Appliances have been a strong category for Sears, headquartered in suburban Chicago, and smaller stores are a way to keep a presence in communities where larger stores are closing, Lampert said.
