Utah locations among Macy's, Kmart closures

Two major retailers have announced store closures — including four in Utah — as part of previously announced belt-tightening cutbacks. Macy’s and Sears Holdings announced the closing of two stores each in Utah.

Macy’s will close its stores at the Layton Hills Mall in Layton and at the former Cottonwood Mall in Salt Lake City. The Cottonwood store is the last standing retailer at the location. Meanwhile, Sears Holdings will close its Kmart stores in Vernal and Layton.

The Macy’s closures are part of a new round of 68 closures nationwide included in 100 closings announced in August. Macy’s will lay off 160 Utah employees at the two Utah outlets and more than 10,100 nationwide. The retailer said that its established stores saw a 2.1 percent decline in sales in November and December.

Macy’s had previously announced the opening this spring of a new store at Fashion Place mall in Murray that is expected to employ about 150.

The Kmart location closings will bring the early 2017 total to 150 announced by Sears, approximately 10 percent of its total retail outlets that include both the Sears and Kmart brands. In its most recent fiscal quarter, Sears reported a loss of $748 million as revenues fell 13 percent. Kmart bought Sears in 2005 in a reported $11 billion deal and continued operations under the Sears Holdings umbrella.

Sears also announced last week that it has sold its Craftsman tool brand to Stanley Black & Decker Inc. for about $900 million, marking another move to prop up the retailer with fresh sources of funding.