Store Closures
Another Austin-area Sears department store will close in spring 2019
There's more sad news for Sears. As two Austin stores prepare for their final days, one more local shop has been added the shutter list.
On December 28, the company issued a list of 80 stores that will shut down in late March, including 43 Sears stores and 37 Kmart stores. Among the stores scheduled to close is one at 2100 SW S. Young Dr. in Killeen.
The Barton Creek Square and Hancock Center stores, the last remaining locations inside the city limits, will close next week. With the Waco and Killeen closures, the Bastrop store will be the closest outpost to the Capital City. The chain will still have a big Texas presence with nearly 200 stores including Sears Outlet Centers.
In additional Killeen, Sears will close seven Texas stores including:
- 6001 W. Waco Dr., Waco
- 201 S. Plano Rd., Richardson
- 851 N. Central Expy., Plano
- 4310 Buffalo Gap Rd., Abilene
- 7701 1-40 W. Ste. 400, Amarillo
- 3100 Hwy. 365, Port Arthur
Many of the stores closing have Sears Auto Centers, which will close, as well; those are expected to close in January.
Sears has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings since October 2018. December 28 was the deadline for bidders to buy the company, but no bidders emerged.
Sears avoided liquidation entirely when chairman Ed Lampert made a last-minute bid for 435 Sears stores. Lampert is a hedge-fund manager and billionaire who appointed himself chairman and CEO of the company. When he joined the company in 2005, there were more than 3,500 locations. He's stepping down as chief executive.
These 80 stores are the latest in a series of closures, including 142 stores when Sears filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October, followed by another 40 in November.
There's a silver lining for bargain shoppers: Liquidation sales at the closing stores are already underway.
