At least ten out of the 326 stores that US retailer Kmart said it was to close are to remain open due to concessions on leases by landlords.
The stores that are being removed from the list of closures will be profitable under the renegotiated lease terms, Ron Hutchison, Kmart’s chief restructuring officer told Dow Jones Newswires.
“We had a pool of 10 or 15 stores where we were looking for lease concessions when we announced the closings, and there are several that were granted,” Hutchison said. “The number is now 316, and there could be another one or two stores [that remain open].”
Hutchison also said that Kmart does not plan to close all of its supercentres as some of the stores remain profitable and fit into the company’s long-term strategy.
