DOVER — The Sears location in the Dover Mall will be closing this summer, according to Sears Holdings.

“We are making the difficult, but necessary decision to close the Sears store at the Dover Mall,” Sears spokesman Howard

Riefs said on Monday. “The store will close to the public in early August. Until then, it will remain open for customers. The store began its liquidation sale on May 18. The Sears Auto Center will remain open. We have been strategically and aggressively evaluating our store space and productivity, and have accelerated the closing of unprofitable stores as previously announced.”

In response to a question about how many employees will be impacted by the closure, Mr. Riefs noted that the number was not “publicly available.” However, affected employees will be eligible to receive severance and have the opportunity to apply for open positions at area Sears or Kmart stores, the company said.

“This is not an effort solely aimed at cost savings but is part of a strategy we have been executing against as many of our larger stores are too big for our needs,” Mr. Riefs added. “Having fewer stores — and the right format — will help us bring Sears Holdings to a size and place to meet the realities of the changing retail world.”

The recent decision to close the Dover location is part of a larger national strategy that will result in the closings of at least 40 stores in 24 states — this in addition to the 166 stores the company said it would close this year, according to Business Insider.

The company had 1,002 stores as of early February, down from 1,980 stores in 2013. It closed another 103 stores in April.

Sears has cut its store count in half within the last five years.

Although they’ve yet to provide an exhaustive list of the stores Sears Holdings plans to close by the end of the year, other nearby closings that have been announced include three Sears locations in Pennsylvania and three Kmarts in New Jersey.