Area Sears location will close on Sunday

Sunday will be the last day the Dayton Mall Sears location in Miami Twp. is open.

The store will be open on Black Friday, but will close two days later as part of Sears’ plan to return to profitability after filing for bankruptcy last month. Two other local stores, Beavercreek and Piqua, are scheduled to shutter within the next several months. They’re part of 228 total stores expected to close by February, leaving only the Springfield store in the region.

Employees of the Dayton Mall store have said not much will be left on Black Friday.

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The Mall at Fairfield Commons store in Beavercreek will close sometime in December, but no official date has been announced. Both the Dayton and Beavercreek malls are owned by Washington Prime Group.

“Tenants which have failed to evolve in order to satisfy an increasingly savvy consumer do not belong in our assets,” said Lou Conforti, Washington Prime’s CEO.

The Mall at Fairfield Commons is different than other store closures, not appearing on any lists, but closing as a result of mall ownership negotiating an early lease termination.

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Liquidation sales at the Piqua mall began this month and its expected closing date is in February.

Sears Holdings hasn’t seen a profitable year since 2010 and has announced round after round of store closures in recent years.

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“I’ve shopped here for tools, and once you’ve got them, I think that’s part of the downfall, they last forever,” said Larry Beaudry of Springboro.

Elder-Beerman and Toys “R” Us also went out of business this year.

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