Sears stores in Cortez and Durango will remain open and are not part of the Sears Holding Corp. bankruptcy filed Monday.
Two Sears stores in Colorado – one in Lakewood and one in Centennial – are set to close. Sears Holdings operates about 700 stores and employs about 68,000 people.
The Cortez and Durango stores are part of the Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc., which split from Sears Holdings Corp. in 2012.
The Cortez store, at 1 E. Main St., is locally owned by Naomi and David Farrell. They held a grand reopening on March 9 and have been open for about two years.
On Tuesday, Naomi Farrell said that although she expects a formal announcement in the next day or so, the Cortez store will remain open, and that the couple look forward to continuing to provide “outstanding service, value and convenience.”
This spring, the store unveiled a new inventory, including a wider range of refrigerators, ovens, washing machines and other appliances as well as a computer kiosk that helps customers order machine parts that aren’t stocked in Cortez.
Local consumers have called with questions about the future of the Cortez Sears since the couple bought it.
“We get that question all the time: ‘I heard you all are going out of business, and if I buy this, are you going to be here tomorrow?’” David Farrell said when the store reopened.
Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc. operates more than 750 franchise retail stores in 49 states. It operates stores under various brand names including Sears Hometown, Sears Appliance & Hardware, Sears Home Appliance Showroom, Sears Outlet and Buddy’s Home Furnishings franchise.
Trading of the franchise’s stock, SHOS, was up 6 percent before noon Tuesday, at $2.82 per share. Its 52-week high was $3.95, and its low, $1.38.
The Cortez Sears Hometown store is at 1 E. Main St. It is open from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.
The Durango Herald contributed to this article.
