Kmart exec denies existence of a list of stores targeted for closure in Georgia

Posted 4:25PM on Monday 4th November 2002 ( 22 years ago )

NEW YORK - A top Kmart executive Monday denied reports that the bankrupt company has compiled a list of 567 stores to be closed after the holiday season. "I wish I had it," Chief Restructuring Officer Ron Hutchison said of the rumored list. The Atlanta Business Chronicle said last week it obtained the list from unnamed sources. "We do not have a list of stores scheduled to be closed," Hutchison said. "There's been no presentation to me or senior management about any stores to be closed at this time." The Troy, Mich., retailer closed 283 stores in April following a Jan. 22 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. It expects to announce a second round of store closings after the holiday season, Hutchison said. But the total number of closings will only be a "fraction" of the number reported by several business newspapers last week, he said. The Atlanta Business Chronicle said 19 stores on the list were located in Georgia. The Tampa Bay Business Journal, a sister publication under American City Business Journals Inc., named 12 locations in the Tampa Bay, Fla., area that were on the list, and said the list's total included 40 stores throughout Florida. The Dallas Business Journal, also part of the American City Business Journal chain, named nine locations in the Dallas area that were on the list of potential closings, and said 31 other Texas stores were being targeted. Unnamed sources told the Atlanta Business Chronicle that the list is "tentative, and not all the stores may actually darken once Kmart makes an official decision." In February, prior to Kmart's first round of store closings, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported that it obtained a list of 291 stores to be closed. Kmart ended up closing 283 stores. The business publication's list had included 32 stores that didn't close, and failed to identify 50 stores that did close, according to a Saturday report by the Detroit Free Press. Kmart officials weren't immediately able to confirm those numbers. Kmart's Hutchison said holiday sales, which make up 30 to 40 percent of the company's annual revenue, will be a key factor this year in determining which locations are closed early next year. Other factors include lease negotiations and competitive pressures, he added. "We're making lots of lists for lots of reasons," Hutchison said. "We're constantly reviewing all 1,800 stores. When we do get around to making a list, which will be after the end of the holiday season, we are endeavoring to close as few stores as possible."

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