Wisconsin-based Shopko to close remainder of stores by June
Wisconsin-based retailer Shopko will close its remaining department stores by mid-June, the company confirmed on Monday.
In a statement, the privately held company said it was unable to find a buyer for the retail business, just one month after it announced plans to close 250 stores -- or about 70 percent of its locations, as it attempted to recover from bankruptcy and restore profitability, according to the Green Bay Press Gazette.
"This is not the outcome that we had hoped for when we started our restructuring efforts," Shopko CEO Russ Steinhorst said in a statement. "We want to thank all of our teammates for their hard work and dedication during their time at Shopko."
Now, an additional 120 stores that Shopko had hoped to keep open will be closed. The company, which was founded in 1962 and operated at one point in 24 states, employed 15,000 people nationwide, the Green Bay Press Gazette reported.
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The closures mark another victim for brick-and-mortar retail, which has struggled to compete with companies like Amazon in an era of expanding e-commerce. Some of the country’s most prominent retailers -- including Foot Locker, Sears and Payless have been forced to close hundreds of stores amid sagging sales.