Sears store at Ala Moana will be open until 2014

Sears Holdings Corp. said Friday it will close its store at Ala Moana Center in "early 2014," not 2013 as was announced last week.

The company, which announced the closure on Feb. 23, said it misstated the year it will close in the midst of a chaotic day.

Also on Feb. 23, Sears reported it lost $2.4 billion in the fourth quarter.

"Given the fact that it was earnings (reporting day) and just given the complexity of the amount of information flowing, it was missed," said spokes­woman Kimberly Freely, explaining why she gave the wrong year for the closure.

Sears said last week it sold 11 stores to mall owner General Growth Properties Inc. and that they would all be closed in 2013.

On Friday the department store chain said the Ala Moana Sears will close in 2014 and that other store closing dates are still being determined.

"This store (Ala Moana) is not the only store that might stay open until 2014. Some of the dates are moving and are not set in stone," Freely said.

Chicago-based General Growth is investing $500 million to buy back Sears’ lease to the 340,000-square-foot space at Ala Moana Center and redevelop the site for a more profitable use.

Sears was an original tenant when Ala Moana Center opened in 1959, and news of its pending closure came as a shock to many shoppers.