The fate of the Sears/K-Mart retail empire is now in the hands of a bankruptcy judge in White Plains, New York.
Billionaire Eddie Lampert, Sears’ company chairman and largest shareholder, put in a $5 billion bid–and the only bid–to save the remaining 400 stores from liquidation.
According to reports, K-Mart had about 700 stores still open as of last October, though that number has surely shrunk since then.
This means, for now, the K-Mart in Toms River will stay open. There are 11 other locations in New Jersey.
There are 15 remaining Sears locations in the state, including Freehold. The location in Ocean County Mall closed in 2018 and is currently being demolished. That location will be transformed into a “Lifestyle Center.“
