Sanford’s KMart store will apparently be one of several closing by early April, according to a report from Triad-based MyFox8.com.

MyFox8.com reports:

Five Kmart locations in North Carolina will be closed by early April, including stores in Shelby, Sanford, Franklin, Midway Park and Salisbury. Click here for a full list.

Sears Holdings, which owns both Sears and Kmart, made the announcement Thursday, building on months of similar closings aimed at getting the company on solid financial footing.

Closeout sales at the affected locations will begin next week, the company said in a press release, and all 103 locations will be shuttered by May.

The closings, according to MyFox8, are part of a broader strategy by Sears Holdings, which expects to close 39 Sears stores and 64 KMart locations nationwide this year. Sanford’s KMart store, located at the intersection of Horner Boulevard and Main Street, has been open since at least the early 1980s.

While Sanford has experienced strong retail growth in recent years, the closing is a blow to a city which needs an empty big box location like a hole in the head. Here’s hoping the location can be repurposed to good use in the coming months.