Martinsburg Mall Sears store to close by mid-August

The Sears store in Martinsburg Mall will close by mid-August, a company spokeswoman said Thursday.

"It's being closed for business reasons," said Kimberly Freely, a spokeswoman for Sears Holdings. "As a normal course of business, we continually evaluate our store portfolio and make those decisions accordingly."


Freely said the closing was an isolated decision and will not affect other Sears or Kmart stores in the area.

Sears and Kmart merged in 2005.

The Martinsburg Mall Sears has 57 employees, Freely said. Those employees will be notified of open positions at other stores, but will have to apply for those positions if interested, she said.

The company announced the closure to employees on Tuesday, Freely said.

Robert Gardner, general manager of the Martinsburg Mall, said Sears will be missed.

"(Sears has) been a great service to the community since the mall's inception in 1991," Gardner said in a news release.

Gardner said the mall's owner, Mountain State University, extended "a very generous offer" to Sears in hopes of keeping the store.

Gardner said Mountain State has invested a sizable amount of resources in the mall and has always planned to retain current stores and bring in national brands.

"Despite the ... departure of Sears, Mountain State University remains steadfast in its goal to see Martinsburg Mall continue as the retail hub of the marketplace," Gardner said in the release.

He said plans are under way on several new projects, but did not provide any details.

Other stores in the mall include Bath and Body Works, The Bon-Ton, Claire's, Finish Line, Dollar Tree, JCPenney, Radio Shack, rue21, Payless and Walmart.

Sears will have a presale starting on May 27, and a liquidation sale starting June 16, Freely said.

With the closure of the Martinsburg Mall Sears, the closest Sears to Martinsburg will be the Sears in Valley Mall near Hagerstown.

Apple Blossom Mall in Winchester, Va., Francis Scott Key Mall in Frederick, Md., and Chambersburg Mall in Chambersburg, Pa., also have Sears stores.

There are more than 2,700 Sears-branded and affiliated stores in the United States and Canada, according to the Sears Holdings website.