Sentinel staff report–
Updated April 25, 5:03 p.m.
The Sears store at Sunrise Mall will be closing this summer, joining the demise of Toys ‘R’ Us and other brick-and-mortar retailers in the age of online retail domination. The Sears store at Roseville’s Westfield Galleria mall is also slated to close.
“We can confirm that we are closing the Sears store in Citrus Heights,” said Sears Holding Corp. Spokesman Howard Reifs in an email response to The Sentinel on Wednesday. “The store will close in mid-July 2018. The store will remain open for customers in the meantime and will begin its liquidation sales by April 27.”
Reifs did not respond to a question regarding why the store was closing, but told The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday that “Seritage Growth Properties is recapturing the Sears stores in Citrus Heights and Roseville as part of an agreement reached in 2015 between Seritage and Sears Holdings.”
According to a 2017 Business Insider report, Seritage, a real estate investment trust headed up by Sears CEO Eddie Lampert, has been able to triple rents by closing Sears stores and turning them over to higher-paying tenants. Lampert’s dual role as chairman of Seritage and CEO of Sears prompted a lawsuit regarding transactions between the two companies, which was settled for $40 million last year, Business Insider reported.
Regarding the local closure, Reifs told The Sentinel the company “understand[s] that members may be disappointed when we close a store, but our Shop Your Way membership platform, websites and mobile apps allow us to maintain these valued relationships long after a store closes its doors. As a result, we hope to retain a portion of the sales previously associated with this store by maintaining our relationships with the members who shopped this location.”
He also said shoppers can continue to patronize other Sears stores in the region which are not slated to close, the closest being the Sears store at the Arden Fair Mall. Reifs said laid-off employees will have an opportunity to apply for open positions at area Sears or Kmart stores as well.
SHC also owned the Kmart store in Citrus Heights , which closed in 2016. That building, located at 8501 Auburn Blvd., is now slated for a new Studio Movie Grill and a Big Lots store.
Related: Plans submitted for new Studio Movie Grill in Citrus Heights
*This story was updated to include the correct location of the nearest Sears to remain open.
