A woman enters a Sears store in Alexandria, Va., as the iconic American retailer Sears filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 15. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Sears, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, has listed 505 stores it hopes to sell to a new owner in an effort to stop them from closing.

The bankrupt retailer identified the stores that it plans to sell in a bankruptcy court filing Wednesday.


Though it is searching for new owner to keep these stores open, Sears hasn't ruled out liquidation, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The company received court approval a week ago to sell its best-performing stores after receiving previous approval to start closing sales at 142 unprofitable stores, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Dec. 15 is the deadline for Sears to receive an initial bid for the stores it identified this week. The deadline for other buyers to submit bids is Dec. 28. The auction is on Jan. 14.

The 132-year-old company with 506 locations, including 482 full-line department stores, as well as 360 Kmart stores, according to a public filing, announced its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in mid-October.