Sears to Close Another 72 Stores As Sales Plunge

NEW YORK (AP) -- Sears is closing another 72 stores after reporting first-quarter losses and plunging sales.

The struggling retailer said Thursday that it has identified about 100 stores that are no longer turning profits, and 72 of those locations will be shuttered soon.

Sears Holdings Corp., based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, lost $424 million, or $3.93 per share, in its first quarter.

It earned $245 million, or $2.29 per share, a year earlier, a quarter that included a $492 million gain tied to the sale of the Craftsman brand.

Revenue tumbled more than 30 percent to $2.89 billion, with store closings already underway contributing to almost two-thirds of the decline.

Shares are down more than 3 percent before the opening bell.

The Sears store in St. Cloud closed in January of this year.