Kmart stores in Fairborn, Springfield to close for good Sunday

Kmart stores in Fairborn and Springfield will close permanently at the end of business on Sunday, Dec. 7, and both stores are discounting remaining merchandise up to 70 percent today and Thursday, Dec. 4, and up to 75 percent Friday and Saturday.

Howard Riefs — corporate communications director for Sears Holdings, the corporate parent of Kmart — confirmed the closing dates in an email Wednesday. Kmart officials announced the upcoming closings in September and said at the time that the stores — at 224 E. Dayton-Yellow Springs Road in Fairborn and at 1476 Upper Valley Pike in Springfield — would close sometime in early December.

The Fairborn store had 66 employees, the Springfield store 68.

“Those associates who are eligible will receive severance and have the opportunity to apply for open positions at area Sears or Kmart stores,” Riefs said in September.

Riefs said no other Kmart stores in the region are targeted for closing. The retailer operates stores in Riverside, Englewood, Beavercreek, Springboro and Eaton.

“Store closures are part of a series of actions we’re taking to reduce ongoing expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model,” Riefs said. “These actions will better enable us to focus our investments on serving our customers and members through integrated retail – at the store, online and in the home.”

The Fairborn and Springfield Kmart closings were part of a larger wave of closings that included five Michigan stores. The company has been struggling financially. Kmart closed its store in downtown Xenia earlier this year, and closed its Salem Avenue Trotwood store in early 2013.

In a newspaper advertisement, Kmart officials note that all sales at the Fairborn and Springfield stores through Sunday are final, and no refunds or exchanges will be given. Discounts do not apply to pharmacy, tobacco, alcohol, or prepaid phone or gift cards.

Both stores are open 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. through their final day of business Sunday, Riefs said.

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