Kmart to close stores across the
nation, Santa Paula not on first list
January 20, 2016
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Kmart will close four stores in California in March and April, but the Santa Paula Kmart, only one of two of the retailers in Ventura County, is not on the list of dozens of closures across the nation.
“I’d be surprised,” if the store was closed according to a Santa Paula Kmart employee who asked not to be identified. “I heard we had the best quarter in the region and that we did very well — better than expected — at Christmas.”
Kmart has become increasingly popular offering quality goods at low prices, from household essentials, food items and bedding to athletic wear, shoes and quality clothing featuring many popular “celebrity designer” lines that have required added space to the fashion section.
The second Kmart in Ventura County is located in Camarillo.
Kmart Santa Paula attracts shoppers from the Santa Clara River Valley and Ventura among other areas.
In addition, the employee added, “We get a lot of online orders that are picked up here…”
Sears Holding Company announced Wednesday it would shutter 100 to 120 Sears and Kmarts across the nation, some expected to start liquidation sales as soon as January 24.
Each Kmart in the chain employs 80 to 140 workers; those who are eligible will receive severance and able to apply for positions at other Kmart or Sears stories.
The Kmart chain reported a 7.5 percent decline in comparable-store sales in its most recent quarter, which ended Oct. 31. It attributed the fall to slides in apparel — unseasonably warm temperatures in portions of the nation stalled the sale of cold weather gear — and consumer electronics.
So far the closure of about 80 specific Sears and Kmart stores have been announced.
