Marysville Kmart, chain’s last store in Snohomish County, closing

MARYSVILLE — The last Kmart in Snohomish County is shutting down.

Store closing signs went up last week at the store at 9623 State Ave. in Marysville. On Monday, the store was packed with people looking for bargains.

The store plans to close in mid-July.

The store employs 47 people who are mostly part-time or hourly. Those employees will be eligible to receive severance and can apply for open positions at other Sears or Kmart stores, said Howard Riefs, director of corporate communications for the Sears Holdings Corp., which operates both Kmart and Sears.

Sears Holdings announced in April that it planned to close 68 Kmarts and 10 Sears stores this summer to offset losses. At the time, the Marysville store wasn’t on the list of closures.

But rumors surfaced on social media two weeks ago that the Marysville Kmart was targeted for closure. Riefs said at the time that wasn’t the case.

“No, that’s a bad rumor,” Riefs said in an email on May 2. “The store will remain open.”

Riefs said that he was in error in that email.

“Store closures are part of a series of actions we’re taking to reduce on-going expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model,” Riefs said.

Two years ago, Sears Holdings shut down the Kmart at 8102 Evergreen Way in Everett. That store had been open for 48 years. The location remains vacant.