Sears to Close Another 72 Stores as Sales Plunge

The List of Stores is Expected to be Announced Thursday Afternoon

NEW YORK (AP) – Sears is closing another 72 stores after reporting a first-quarter losses and plunging sales.

The struggling retailer said Thursday that it has identified about 100 stores that are no longer turning profits, and 72 of those locations will be shuttered soon.

The list of store closings is due to be announced mid-day Thursday.

Sears Holdings Corp., based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, lost $424 million, or $3.93 per share, in its first quarter.

It earned $245 million, or $2.29 per share, a year earlier, a quarter that included a $492 million gain tied to the sale of the Craftsman brand.

Revenue tumbled more than 30 percent to $2.89 billion, with store closings already under way contributing to almost two thirds of the decline.

Shares are down more than 3 percent before the opening bell.