Sears is closing 26 Sears and Kmart stores in October including three Sears locations in Missouri. The company plans to close its locations in Cape Girardeau, the St. Louis suburb of St. Peters, and Independence.

Sears parent company Transform Co made the announcement late Wednesday.

“Over the past several months, we have worked hard to strengthen our vendor relationships, return our inventory levels to normal, and improve customer satisfaction and operations; however, we have faced a number of challenges returning our stores to sustainable levels of productivity…” the company said in a statement. “These challenges have unfortunately affected our performance and limited our strategic choices.”

Sears is closing the stores as it continues to struggle after emerging from bankruptcy.

Liquidation sales are expected to begin around August 15. The stores are anticipated to call it quits in later October.

The former retail giant says eligible workers will be offered severance pay.

Last October, nearly 150 stores closed including several in Missouri and Kansas.

–Dwight Widaman