Kmart says it will list stores to close by March 11

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Posted 8:07AM on Tuesday, February 19, 2002

TROY, Mich. - Kmart Corp. has told a federal bankruptcy judge that it will released a list by March 11 of the stores it plans to close in an effort to cut its losses. The company also plans to hire a liquidator to sell off the contents of those stores, it said in filings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago. The nation's No. 3 retailer filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in January after a disappointing Christmas season and plummeting stock prices. Kmart has struggled to compete with industry leader Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and No. 2 Target Corp. In court documents filed Friday, Kmart said "prompt execution of the store-closing sales at this time is critical given that the first quarter is historically a time of significant cash drain," according to the Detroit Free Press. "Any delay will only lead to continued operational losses for these closing stores," the company said. The closing of an unspecified number of stores is designed to save $250 million a year. Judge Susan Pierson Sonderby is scheduled to rule on Kmart's plan at a March 6 hearing. According to the documents, Kmart plans to complete its liquidation sale this summer. The document said Kmart will tell the court by March 11, nine days earlier than previously stated, which of its 2,114 stores it intends to close. Also last week, some Kmart shareholders asked U.S. Trustee Ira Bodenstein in Chicago to let them form a committee to participate in the bankruptcy case, The Detroit News reported. Last week, Bodenstein's office named two other creditors' committees, covering unsecured suppliers and financial institutions.