ANOTHER RETAILER GOES UNDER – SHOPKO TO CLOSE ALL REMAINING STORES BY SUMMER

Discount store chain Shopko Stores is shuttering what remains of its 363 stores after failing to find a buyer. After declaring bankruptcy in January, the general merchandise retailer has been unable to stem the tide of retail closings.

It closed about 100 in its bankruptcy announcement, then indicated in a list that it will close about 150 more. Now it’s closing what remains of its retail locations in the coming weeks before summer.

“This is not the outcome that we had hoped for when we started our restructuring efforts,” Shopko CEO Russ Steinhorst said in a statement. “We want to thank all of our teammates for their hard work and dedication during their time at Shopko.”

The company is, however, reevaluating its 51 optical centers. In January, Shopko said it secured up to $480 million in financing from Wells Fargo and a group of lenders to keep the business running.

The Green Bay, Wisconsin-based retailer was founded by a pharmacist in 1962 before going public in 1991. It was purchased for $1.1 billion by private-equity firm Sun Capital Partners in 2005. The company operates 363 stores in 24 states under varying formats.