Continuing the year long trend of national chains on Coastal Highway closing, the company that owns Kmart has announced the Rehoboth location will close by February.

In a press release, Transformco said it will be closing 96 Sears and Kmart stores across the country. Going out of business sales at all the stores – 51 Sears, 45 Kmarts – are expected to begin Monday, Dec. 2.

The impending closure comes just two years after the Kmart property, 19563 Coastal Highway, went through a significant redevelopment. In 2017, the 56,700-square-foot store was downsized and the property was turned into three stores – Kmart, andThat!, and PetSmart.

Following the closure of the 96 stores, Transformco, which purchased the Sears/Kmart chains out of bankruptcy in February, will continue to operate 182 stores.

Just north of Kmart on Coastal Highway, in the Rehoboth Mall, Peebles is also closing its doors. There’s already a banner announcing its closure hanging from the building’s exterior wall.

In a press release, Stage, the parent company that owns Peebles, said the Rehoboth location will be transformed to a Gordmans in 2020.

The press release describes Gordmans as having “an off-price concept.” The specific closure date for Peebles, 18910 Rehoboth Mall Blvd., has not yet been set.

The closure of the two national retailers follows the closure of three national restaurant chains earlier this year – Hooters, TGI Friday and Ruby Tuesday. Ruby Tuesday and Hooters closed in September. TGI Friday closed in July.