Two weeks after announcing the closure of its Little Rock store as part of cost-cutting efforts, Sears said Friday that it will also close its Pine Bluff outlet later this year.
Howard Riefs, spokesman for Sears' parent company, Illinois-based Sears Holdings Corp., said in an email to Arkansas Online that the Sears department store and auto center at Pines Mall will close in early August.
"Store closures are part of a series of actions we're taking to reduce on-going expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model," the statement read.
Eligible employees at the Pine Bluff store will receive severance and have the opportunity to apply for jobs at other Sears or Kmart stores in Arkansas, he said.
Riefs said the liquidation sale at Pine Bluff's Sears will begin May 19.
In late April, the Little Rock store was announced as one of 10 Sears stores that will close in late July. A liquidation sale at the Little Rock store already has begun.
Despite the announced closures, Sears still has department stores in North Little Rock, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Hot Springs and Jonesboro. The company also operates smaller stores in cities across the state.
State Desk on 05/07/2016