COLONIE – Sears is closing its store in Colonie Center, according to a number of reports including by Business Insider.
In all, the troubled retail icon is closing 20 more stores in addition to the 245 it announced it would close earlier this year.
Others in New York, according to Business Insider, include one in East Northport and one in Johnson City.
In January, when the Chicago-based company announced a round of store closures, it said in a statement: “Sears Holdings will continue to strategically and aggressively evaluate our store space and productivity, and accelerate the closing of some unprofitable stores as the company has previously announced. The decision to close stores is a difficult but necessary step as we take actions to strengthen the Company’s operations and fund its transformation. Many of these stores have struggled with their financial performance for years and we have kept them open to maintain local jobs and in the hopes that they would turn around.”
Sears has some 275,000 square foot of space in Colonie Center and has been an anchor through the mall’s various transformations since the mall opened in 1966.
In fact, the company that built Colonie Center, Homart Development, was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sears Roebuck and Co. according to media reports at the time.
In 2014, the department store gave up some of its space to Whole Foods. Years ago, Sears closed its automotive center at the intersection of Wolf Road and Central Avenue that was housed in a building separate from the mall.
Officials at Colonie Center did not immediately return a phone call for comment.