ONTARIO — Just shy of its 37th birthday, the Ontario Kmart store will close in early July. It opened its doors in August 1978.
The closure was confirmed Tuesday by Howard Riefs, director of corporate communications for Sears Holdings, which owns Kmart.
Until the July date, the store will remain open for customers, with a liquidation sale scheduled to begin April 19, Riefs said in an announcement.
“Store closures are part of a series of actions we’re taking to reduce ongoing expenses, adjust our asset base and accelerate the transformation of our business model,” Riefs said.
The store has 55 employees and associates who are eligible to receive severance and have the opportunity to apply for open positions at area Sears or Kmart stores, he said. Most of them are part-time or hourly employees, he said.
Ontario Kmart customers with layaway contracts at the store will have the option to pay off their contract early or transfer their layaway contract to a neighboring store or online. They will need to cancel their current contract and recreate it, Riefs said.
Larry Meyer is a news reporter at The Argus Observer. He can be reached at (541) 823-4813 or by emailing larrym@argusobserver.com. To comment on this story, go to www.argusobserver.com.
I sure hate to see K Mart close. This part of the state really needs some stores moving in....both Ontario and Nyssa. I heard that WinCo will be coming in to take over the KMart store, hope so.
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Sign of the times. Maybe a %1 sales tax would have saved K-Mart too.
I sure hate to see K Mart close. This part of the state really needs some stores moving in....both Ontario and Nyssa. I heard that WinCo will be coming in to take over the KMart store, hope so.
herd winco is going in and possibly ross
-cathy
This store has been around before the first McDonalds in Ontario, Oregon.
-Dan Rollins
Would love to see Target in that location.
This makes me sooo sad! :(
That store has been there since I was a Lil girl at the age of 2
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.