Toms River Kmart, Sears Stores to Survive Latest Round of Closures

Kmart, Toms River, NJ (Credit: Google Maps)

Kmart and Sears stores in Toms River will survive the company’s latest round of closures.

The company on Thursday jointly released a list of about 150 stores that would be closing soon. The list did not include any stores in Ocean County. Toms River is home to a Kmart store on Route 37 and a Sears store in the Ocean County Mall on Hooper Avenue.

The company said in a statement that all of the stores that are closing would begin liquidating their inventory as soon as this weekend. The closures themselves would commence at the end of February through mid-March. The company blamed a “challenging retail environment” – a nod to the popularity of online shopping and competition from sites such as Amazon.com – as the reason behind the downsizing.

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“We are taking strong, decisive actions today to stabilize the company and improve our financial flexibility in what remains a challenging retail environment,” said Edward S. Lampert, Chairman and CEO of Sears Holdings. “We are committed to improving short-term operating performance in order to achieve our long-term transformation.”

Sears will also sell the Craftsman brand of tools to Stanley Black & Decker Inc. for $775 million divided between two payments, the company said. The brand will now be sold primarily outside Sears stores.

Stores Closing in New Jersey:

• Kmart, 1468 Clementon Road, Clementon.
• Kmart, 645 Route 18, East Brunswick.
• Kmart, 800 Black Horse Pike, Pleasantville.
• Kmart, Route 9 & Route 47, Rio Grande.