Kmart plans to close its store on Kildaire Farm Road in Cary in November and lay off 71 people.
The company filed a notice this week with the N.C. Department of Commerce under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
The store will permanently close Nov. 13 and the layoffs are expected to begin the week before.
The company gave no reason for the store closure in its letter. A Kmart official didn't immediately return a call seeking comment this afternoon.
Kmart also has four stores in Raleigh, one in Durham and one in Smithfield.
Kmart and Sears are both owned by Sears Holdings Corp., which has reportedly been considering moving its headquarters out of Illinois.
North Carolina has been among those states said to be on the short list of potential new homes.
Sears has struggled for years with declining sales and customer defections to competitors such as Wal-Mart and Target.
In February, the company named Lou D'Ambrosio, a former IBM executive, to be CEO.
Sears Holdings is set to report second quarter earnings next week.
Business reporter David Bracken came to the N&O in 2004. He covers commercial and residential real estate. Contact David at 919-829-4548 or
Comments
A Shame
Fri, 08/12/2011 - 17:51 — laedabSay what u want about K-Mart, I was able to buy a lot on lay-a-way, and I will miss being able to do this...especially during the holidays. And I HAVE good credit...but who needs the high interest rates & other fees credit card companies charge these days? Would rather buy on lay-a-way. I am a transplant here from a wealthy area in Westchester County, NY....as for Cary...so overrated!
There's a k-mart in Cary?
Thu, 08/11/2011 - 19:01 — damn_gud_ideaThere's a k-mart in Cary? Never knew. And the few who knew never showed up I guess.
remember when
Thu, 08/11/2011 - 18:29 — FlowerpowerI remember when K-Mart was a state-of-the-art discount variety store--shiny, clean, orderly. Today, it does not take an IBM CEO to point out the problems: sloppy, dishelveled merchandise flung hither and yon, dirt and trash everywhere, and nonchalant employees doing mostly nothing. Problems are easy to fix: incentives for carefully-selected employees, good managers, astute buying of products people want, an emphasis on cleanliness and orderliness. Presto--a competitor for the other discounters..
Closing before Christmas?
Thu, 08/11/2011 - 17:25 — nando1234I've never been impressed with Kmart management and this former IBM executive doesn't seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed either.
Why would any smart manager close a store right before the busiest shopping season just doesn't make sense. If they want to close the store then do it after the holiday shopping is over.
But, I'm not surprised that this store would be closing, I never see it crowded with shoppers, on the other hand, they usually had in stock what I wanted when other Kmart stores didn't.
A real nice Christmas present for all of these Kmart employees at a time when unemployment is at all time highs in the country. I wish them well in finding other employment.
Can't say I'm surprised
Thu, 08/11/2011 - 16:09 — JeffDeWittTo my mind K-Mart has been famous for having everything except what I was looking for and long lines at the few open registers.
Much to my surprise the last few times I was at this store they had what I wanted and no lines, and the store seemed neat and orderly.
I'm sorry to see it go and wish the best for it's employees, I remember when they built that store.
I do agree with jollygreen though, the Cary Wal-Mart... a store that was promised to be a "high end" Wal-Mart (whatever that means) when it was built is a dump.
good riddance. what a
Thu, 08/11/2011 - 15:33 — jollygreengood riddance. what a filthy nasty crappy store that is. i would hope the walmart on kildaire would close too, but perhaps with the remodel underway there, they can improve the mishmash and dirty sloppy unorganized store that it is too. sorry for the 71 losing their job, but glad to see kmart go.
Filthy??
Thu, 08/11/2011 - 15:49 — nchurricanesI'm sorry, but I'll have to disagree with you. I've been in that store maybe thrice, but in those visits, I've never found the store to be filthy or nasty. It may not be up to the hoity-toity-nose-in-the-air high-end standard a lot of Cary-ites prefer, but it's no worse than any other Kmart I've ever had the "luxury" of patronizing.
Caryites
Fri, 08/12/2011 - 01:23 — thegutterguyWell said. Apparently showing up in a cary establishment in your work clothes is unacceptable as well. I live in Sanford, a town full of working middle class folks. I chuckle when I see the way people look at me in Cary when Im a little dirty. So uppity.....I am a Cary native and have watched it grow from a small freindly town to well....S-CARY!