Sears in Cary to close in January

The Sears store at Cary Towne Center will close in mid-January, a company representative said Thursday.

The closing is the latest among Sears stores around the country as the company struggles with debt and sagging sales. Bloomberg News reported in September that Sears Holdings Corp. racked up more than $6 billion in losses over four years, and Fitch Ratings said the retailer will run out of cash by 2016 without $4 billion in new capital.

“Store closures are part of a series of actions we’re taking to reduce on-going expenses, adjust our asset base and accelerate the transformation of our business model,” Howard Riefs, corporate communications director for Sears Holdings, said in a statement. “These actions will better enable us to focus our investments on serving our customers and members through integrated retail – at the store, online and in the home.”

The store’s 66 employees will receive severance if eligible and may apply for open positions at other Sears and Kmart stores, Riefs said.

The store will begin a liquidation sale Oct. 31.