Shopko To Close All Remaining Stores By Mid-June

Unable to find a buyer for its business, Wisconsin-based retail chain Shopko Stores plans to close its remaining 120 department stores by mid-June.

With plans to begin winding down its retail operations this week, Shopko says that it will not move forward with an auction that was scheduled Tuesday. The liquidation is expected to take 10-12 weeks.

The closures will affect stores in Beloit, Belvidere, Dixon and Freeport.

The Associated Press (AP):

The retailer, headquartered near Green Bay, filed for bankruptcy protection in January, citing excessive debt and ongoing competitive pressure, and began announcing store closings.

CEO Russ Steinhorst says in a statement “this is not the outcome that we had hoped for when we started our restructuring efforts.”

Shopko began with a store in Green Bay in 1962.