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Sears Store Closings 2013

January 2, 2013 by · Comments Off on Sears Store Closings 2013 

Sears Store Closings 2013, The announcement that Sears will be closing its store at Provo Towne Centre comes with great interest from area residents and business leaders. The store will close sometime next year.

The Sears store at Fashion Place Mall in Murray also will close.

According to Sears spokeswoman Kim Freely, the closure is not because of poor performance at the store.

Mall owner General Growth Properties Inc. announced Thursday a definitive agreement for the acquisition of 11 Sears anchor pads within its portfolio for $270 million. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012.

“This portfolio represents a significant opportunity to recapture valuable real estate within our portfolio,” Shobi Khan, chief operating officer of General Growth Properties said in a news release. “This acquisition also enhances several expansion and redevelopment opportunities including re-tenanting the anchor space.”

Upon closing, GGP will own the 11 anchor pads, including the Provo Towne Centre site. GGP anticipates Sears will continue occupying the space into 2013.

“This decision was for business purposes. It made good business sense for both Sears and General Growth Properties,” Freely said.

David Keating, vice president of corporate communications at GGP added, “As you would imagine, this is a strategic acquisition for GGP. Our goal is to always provide our shoppers with the best in retail, entertainment and dining at our malls.”

He added, “We’re still assessing the opportunities and how they would best fit at the respective centers. We are in talks with a number of retailers that have expressed interest as replacement tenants for these locations, including the two in Utah.”

Director of Provo’s Office of Economic Development, Dixon Holmes said, “While it is always disappointing when a longtime business closes in our community, we are also confident that General Growth Properties will take advantage of this new opportunity at the mall to bring in another new and exciting retailer.

“Sears has long been a mainstay in Provo, and as the only full-service Sears in Utah Valley, they will be missed,” he added.

According to Holmes, the retail industry is a challenging one, especially when it comes to national retailers. Local economies are subject to national trends, and when it comes to retail stores, that means there is always going to be change.

“We look forward to the new possibilities at the Provo Towne Centre mall,” Holmes said.

Sears has been a retail giant in Utah Valley for decades. Besides the mall store, there is a Sears Outlet store in Orem and a repair shop in Provo. In 1989 Sears opened at Telecatalog Center in East Bay Business Park that employed nearly 1,700 people; by 1993 catalogs were going away and the center transformed into a customer service center until it fully closed in 2001.

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