How many Sears are left in New Jersey? They're down to 3

Sears is down to a handful of locations in New Jersey following its latest round of closures.

Sears, which also owns Kmart, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2018 and has been closing stores in New Jersey and around the country ever since.

Earlier this week, Sears Holdings confirmed the closing of Sears stores at the Moorestown Mall, Livingston, New Brunswick and Woodbridge Center as well as a Kmart in West Long Branch.

"The liquidation sales begin this week and the stores are planned to close in mid-April," spokesman Larry Costello said.

The closures leave Jersey City, Hackensack and Rockaway as the only Sears left in New Jersey.

In 2010, Sears had 3,500 stores across the country.

Madeline Forcinito, representative of the Vineland chapter of the National Association of Retired Sears Employees, does not feel nostalgic for the chain, which was once the biggest retailer in the United States. She worked for the company for 15 years.

"I don't care what they do. Not for what they did to us," Forcinito said, referring to the company taking away retirees' insurance benefits.

According to a Chicago Tribune story from Oct. 16. 2019, the company ended insurance benefits for retired employees when they filed Chapter 11.

Forcinito said that she can't shop at Sears anymore because there is no location near her and the company ended shopping discounts for retirees.

"As far as Sears is concerned, I don't want to know nothing about them," she said.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ