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Sears closing Pearlridge Center, Hilo stores

Sears is closing two more of its stores in Hawaii as the struggling retailer cuts costs.

Outlets at Pearlridge Center store in Aiea and Prince Kuhio Plaza in Hilo will be closing in April, according to an employee at the Sears Hometown store at Ala Moana Center that sells only appliances and mattresses. Forbes listed the two stores as part of a list of 10 that Sears will be closing.

Closing sales are expected to start next week, according to the employee.

Sears corporate spokesman Larry Costello did not return an email Tuesday seeking comment.

The closures will leave just the Sears stores in Kahului at Queen Kaahumanu Center on Maui and in Kailua-Kona at Hale Hana Center on Hawaii island as the last two remaining in the state. Sears has listed temporary positions on its website for those two stores and others as it prepares for liquidation.

The last Sears store to close in Hawaii was the one at Windward Mall in Kaneohe on April 28, 2019.

Sears began 2019 with 489 full-line Sears department stores in operation, but with the additional upcoming 10 store closures, that number has dropped to just 36 locations, according to Forbes.

The Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based retailer, which filed for bankruptcy in October 2018, was acquired the following year by Transform Holdco LLC, which was formed by Eddie Lampert, former CEO and chairman of Sears Holdings Corp.

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