By Stuart Hirsch
The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON, Ind. —
The end is near for Sears in Anderson.
Although a closing date has not yet been set, a liquidation sale of all store merchandise began Friday and no new inventory will be brought in, said Kim Freely, a spokesperson for Sears Holding Corp., Sears’ corporate parent.
The company announced plans to close 100 to 120 under-performing stores after a disappointing Christmas buying season.
Megan and Rachael Hollowell of Anderson were saddened to see the store close but were taking advantage of the sales Saturday afternoon. They had armfuls of baby clothes and a car seat for Rachael Hollowell’s god-daughter.
“This is going to make the mall even more empty,” Megan Hollowell said. “They need to get better stores in the mall.”
Jeff Motsinger of Anderson came to get a hose for his Shop-Vac but was enticed by the sales to check out more things and had filled his cart with a variety of items. Like the Hollowells, he is sad to see the store go but said he really wasn’t too surprised.
“It’s the economy,” Motsinger said. “We need to get more jobs here so people can support the stores.”
While the venerable department store’s closing is a blow to Anderson, there also could be a silver lining for local businesses, said Madison County Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Kyle Morey. Customers who used to shop at Sears “are going to be looking elsewhere to spend their dollars,” Morey said.
Rob Sparks, executive director of the Corporation for Economic Development, said he recently had a brief meeting with a regional sales manager for Sears Hometown Stores. Sparks said the idea is to find a local person to open a 6,500- to 25,000-square-foot store licensed to sell Sears-brand products.
Sears Holding spokeswoman Feely said each store scheduled for closure employs between 40 and 80 people.
The 125-year-old retailer merged with Kmart in 2005. Other states affected by the closings are Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee.
Contact Stuart Hirsch: 640-4861, stu.hirsch@heraldbulletin.com. Abbey Doyle contributed to this story.
