OLEAN — White paper signs tacked to the Olean Kmart’s glass doors announced to the public Thursday that the location is going out of business.
The store, which relocated from Allegany to 2801 W. State St. in the mid-1990s, will begin its liquidation sale next week on Thursday before it closes in mid-September, according to Howard Riefs, director of corporate communications at Sears Holdings Corp.
Olean Mayor Bill Aiello said as of Thursday night, he had not been told of the closing.
“This must have been a corporate decision made within the last few days,” he said.
Aiello said the last he had been informed by the city code enforcement office, Kmart was simply downsizing. He was told the store would be closing the pharmacy and remodeling the space so it could be rented to two other businesses.
He added he would “have to make some phone calls tomorrow,” but said it would be unlikely to overturn a decision made at the corporate level.
“This is very disappointing because it affects families and it affects jobs in the area, and retail,” he said.
Riefs said the decision to close the Olean location was “difficult, but necessary.”
“We have been strategically and aggressively evaluating our store space and productivity, and have accelerated the closing of unprofitable stores as previously announced.”
Riefs said the number of associates employed locally is not publicly available, though he added most are part-time or hourly. In 2003, Olean managers said the store had 90 workers.
Riefs added associates who are eligible will receive severance and have the opportunity to apply for open positions at area Sears or Kmart stores.
Wellsville’s Kmart is not currently slated to close, according to a manager who only identified herself as Wilma.
Employees reached by phone at the Olean Kmart store declined to speak and directed comment to corporate.
This year, Sears Holdings Corp. has confirmed a total of 180 store closures nationwide. Also, Business Insider reported this month additional shutterings of 72 Sears and Kmart outlets with a leaked list of store locations, which were not confirmed by corporate officials to them or the Olean Times Herald. The list of closings did not include the Olean location, though two listed stores in New York state issued WARN — or Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification — notices this month, with closing dates set for Sept. 4 and more than 50 employees per location to be affected.
Kmart Corp. bought Sears, Roebuck & Co. in 2004, together operating 3,500 locations to make Sears Holding the third-largest retailer in the U.S. As of January, 1,275 stores were operational.
In an April press release, the holding company said closures were meant to increase its annualized cost savings target to $1.25 billion from $1 billion.
“We are determined to take all necessary actions to improve the performance of Sears Holdings and will leverage our lease optionality to reconfigure our stores and reduce capital obligations,” stated chairman and CEO of Sears Holdings Edward S. Lampert in the release.
The company also announced last week it was eliminating roughly 400 full-time positions at the corporate level.
