Shopko announces 139 more store closures

Dive Brief:

Shopko on Wednesday announced an additional 139 closures of its Shopko and Shopko Hometown stores, the retailer confirmed in an email to Retail Dive.
Approximately 50 optical centers that were operating at those locations will be relocated as freestanding stores.
"Through our conversations with the potential buyers, it has become clear that it is in our best interest to operate with a significantly smaller store footprint," a company spokesperson said in an email to Retail Dive.

Dive Insight:

A fuller picture of the scale and impact of Shopko's bankruptcy plan has emerged recently as the company announced spates of store closures.

In December 2018, Shopko revealed it would close 39 stores and a few days later refuted rumors that it was considering bankruptcy. By mid-January the company announced that it filed for Chapter 11 in the District of Nebraska and was pursuing restructuring due to debt and increased industry competition. In the weeks following the bankruptcy filing, news outlets throughout the Midwest reported on individual store closures which were, in turn, confirmed by the company.

This week Shopko disclosed the pending closures of an additional 139 stores. According to documents available on the company website, in all approximately 250 locations will be closing. Shopko, until recently, operated 363 stores in 24 states with over 18,000 employees. The company was acquired by private equity firm Sun Capital Partners in 2005. The retailer was founded in 1962.

"We remain hopeful that we will be able to emerge as a stronger company, and we believe that this is the best course of action to make ourselves more attractive to potential buyers and successfully emerge from Chapter 11," a Shopko spokesperson said in an email to Retail Dive.

In a letter to customers dated Jan. 16, Shopko assured customers that continuing stores will maintain its loyalty programs, gift cards, merchandise credits, warranties and return policies. A list of "Go Forward" locations, or stores that will remain open, can be found on the company's website.