Auburn Kmart to stay open despite another round of store closings

Sears Holdings is closing the Kmart in Waterville as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan.

The Kmart on Center Street in Auburn is not on a list of 40 stores —  29 Sears and 11 Kmart sites — published by USAToday. Waterville is the only Maine location to lose a store.

In October, Sears Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Sears, which started as a mail order catalog in the 1880s, has been on a slow march toward extinction as it lagged far behind its peers and incurred huge losses over the years.

At its peak, the operator of Sears and Kmart had 4,000 stores in 2012 but will now be left with a little more than 500.

In January, Sears Holdings identified 100 unprofitable stores, and planned to close 72 of them soon.

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