Sears closing 150 stores and selling Craftsman

Sears is closing 150 Kmart and Sears stores and selling the Craftsman brand in an attempt to stabilize the company.

Locations in Fayetteville, Goldsboro and more will be closing by March.

The following stores in North Carolina will close by the end of March:

Kmart at 815 S College Road Wilmington NC

In addition, Sears is selling the Craftsman business to Stanley Black & Decker for $525 million at closing, an additional $250 million in three years and a percent of sales to new customers.

"We are taking strong, decisive actions today to stabilize the company and improve our financial flexibility in what remains a challenging retail environment," said Edward S. Lampert, Chairman & CEO of Sears Holdings. "We are committed to improving short-term operating performance in order to achieve our long-term transformation."

"Going forward, Sears will be more focused on our Shop Your Way membership platform, a network with tens of millions of active members, and our Integrated Retail strategy in order to be a more nimble, innovative and relevant retailer that is better able to provide value and convenience to our customers. We are confident that concentrating on these key initiatives will lay the foundation for growth over the long-term," Mr. Lampert continued.