ATASCADERO — The local Kmart store will be closing by early 2020, its parent company announced Thursday, Nov. 7. Transformco will be closing 96 Kmart and Sears stores.

Transformco purchased all the assets of Sears Holdings Corporation in February 2019, but says it needs to close struggling stores to remain competitive.

“We have been working hard to position Transformco for success by focusing on our competitive strengths and pruning operations that have struggled due to increased competition and other factors,” the company stated. “As part of this process, we have made the difficult but necessary decision to streamline our operations and close 96 Sears and Kmart stores.”

Going out of business sales at these US stores — 51 Sears and 45 Kmart — are expected to begin on Dec. 2 and be shuttered by February of 2020. Following the closures, Transformco will operate 182 stores.

“We will continue to evaluate our Sears and Kmart footprint, consistent with our overall retail and service strategy,” company officials stated.