Sears Will Not Shutter Kmart

Eddie Lampert, ceo of Sears Holdings (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) has pledged that the company does not plan to close its Kmart chain of stores entirely, though it recently announced plans to close about 15 percent of the store’s fleet this year.

According to Fox Business, Lampert said that any information suggesting otherwise “is irresponsible and likely a conspiracy.”  

Some of the rumors were started earlier this summer when the company introduced a new inventory management program at the retailer that had employees moving all of its stock out of the backrooms onto store shelves. While employees worried that such behavior might signal liquidation, the retailer assured them that it was a tactic to impress customers with full shelves.

Currently, Kmart operates 700 stores, with many of them being profitable.