Sears to Close 68 Kmart LocationsSears to Close 68 Kmart Locations

Sears Holdings announced that it will close 68 Kmart and 10 Sears stores across the U.S. this summer in an effort to "accelerate its transformation and return to profitability."

The decision follows a February announcement that the company was planning to accelerate the closing of unprofitable stores.

"The decision to close stores is a difficult but necessary step as we take aggressive actions to strengthen our company, fund our transformation and restore Sears Holdings to profitability," says Edward S. Lampert, chairman and chief executive officer, Sears Holdings.