Greenbelt Kmart Spared in First Round of Closings

The Kmart on 8829 Greenbelt Road has been spared in the first wave of closures announced Friday by company Sears Holding Corporation.

Eighty stores nationwide are on the closing list with more future closings projected. In a year-end press release, Sears Holding announced it would be closing 100 to 120 Kmart and Sears full-line stores.

Currently, however, Greenbelt's store is open and off the list. On Tuesday, Greenbelt Kmart Manager Janice Maxey said she thinks it's going to stay that way. She said she thought the store was safe and safe for good.

Its sales are pretty good, she said, adding that over Christmas, "We did really good."

One store in Maryland didn't fare so well. Ellicott City's Sears Grand in Chatham Station Shopping Center is on the closing list. On Tuesday, Sears Grand employee Dollene, who declined to give her last name, said that the store has been given a closing date that is within the next couple of months.

All of the employees may not be out of a job for an extended period, though, as Dollene reported that people from different companies were coming in and offering employees jobs.

Sears Holding expects the closings to generate $140 to $170 million of cash through the selling off of inventory as well as from the subleasing and selling off of real estate.

The company press release showed store sales down for its eight-week and year-to-date periods and made reference to store sales declines that reflected decreases in consumer electronics, apparel and lower layaway sales.

The company has not announced further closures, but states that additional updates will be posted on its website as they become available.

Would you miss Greenbelt Kmart if it closed?