Anchor Store Sears Appliances and Hardware Will Lock Its Doors for Good This Friday

Anchor store Sears Appliances and Hardware will lock its doors for good this Friday, right before Memorial Day weekend. A fixture in North Lindenhurst since opening in 1997, Sears Hardware officially closed it doors to the general public on Mothers' Day - which required all employees' hands on deck for the last of the liquidation sales it held since learning of its impending closure at the end of February. Driving past today, however, there were signs in front of the doors that touted the sale of equipment, furnishings and fixtures inside. A peek inside and one could clearly see the last of the employees wrapping up the shelving and displays and shrink-wrapping them on palettes to be sent back to Sears corporate. According to the store chain's parent company Sears Holdings Corporation in Chicago, Illinois, the store was one of three Long Island locations that made the closure list this Spring. North Babylon and Hauppauge were the other two locales. The company indicated they were being closed due to "poor performance," declining to elaborate back in March, and simply pointing to pages two and three of Sears Holdings' annual report for the fiscal year ended January 28, 2012. (The full report could be found at searsholdings.com under "investors," compay officials noted. See also the accompanying PDF.) It seemed staff members - at least those in Lindenhurst - thought they might've dodged closure after they saw the Spring displays and products flow into the store in February - despite hearing news the parent company might close as many as 100 Sears and Kmart stores. But they knew the lease was up in February, and then the district manager came in to break the news before that month was through, according to staff members. Company officials assured locations in Port Jefferson and Lake Ronkonkoma - along with Sears.com - would continue to serve customers. However, after phone calls today to both locations it seems Port Jeff is staying open for now while Lake Ronkonkoma is closing this July. The store learned of its impending closure late this month. Phone calls to locations in Patchogue and Shirley revealed they both were also staying open for now. In addition, there's a six-year-old Sears Outlet store in West Babylon specializing in appliances only that's not going anywhere for now. But back in Lindy the closing of Sears Hardware is leaving another shopping center lacking another anchor store, and residents without a large hardware store on par with Home Depot or Lowe's. No details about the landlord are known at this time, and it looks as if the storefront might remain vacant at least in the short term, according to some staff members. Source: patch.com