Sears to close Green Bay store

Jeff Bollier
Green Bay Press-Gazette

GREEN BAY - Sears Holdings announced it will begin closing its store at Mason Street and Military Avenue in February. 

The Sears store in Wausau's downtown mall.

The Green Bay store is one of two stores in Wisconsin — the other is in Brookfield — and 39 Sears stores across the country that will close this spring.

All stores on the list are slated to close in March or April, but Green Bay's Sears Auto Center will close sometime in February. 

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Military Avenue Business Improvement District Executive Director Leah Weycker said Sears has been a staple of west side retail for more than 40 years.

However, the store's closure could give Military Ave Partners LLC, the owners of the Sears shopping plaza at Mason Street and Military Avenue, new options to explore, she said. 

"This opens up a lot of opportunities for our district," Weycker said. "Having met the new property owners, I know they have big plans for the whole plaza. I am excited to work with them."

Sears Holdings released a statement with the list that says the closures are part of an ongoing effort to "right size our store footprint in number and size." The company also plans to close 64 Kmart stores this year. No Wisconsin locations are on that list. 

Employees at the stores were informed of the pending closures on Thursday. Affected employees will receive severance packages and the opportunity to apply for open positions at other stores in the area. 

Sears Holdings said liquidation sales will begin at locations slated to close on Jan. 12.