Shopko to close all remaining stores; company evaluating options for optical business

Published 3:51 pm Monday, March 18, 2019

Shopko announced Monday it will close all of its remaining stores by June 16 after it was unable to find a buyer, according to a news release.

The company states it continues to evaluate options for its optical business.

“This is not the outcome that we had hoped for when we started our restructuring efforts,” said Russ Steinhorst, chief executive officer, in the release. “We want to thank all of our teammates for their hard work and dedication during their time at Shopko.”

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The company will begin wind-down operations this week, and it will not move forward with the auction that it previously contemplated.

The decision comes after Shopko announced Feb. 6 it was more than doubling the number of stores it would close this spring, including the Albert Lea and Austin stores on May 12. Both communities had been slated to have optical services at new standalone locations.

The company in mid-January announced it had filed for voluntary petitions for a court-supervised financial restructuring under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.

Started in 1962, the Wisconsin-based retailer has served small and mid-size cities across the Central, Western and Pacific Northwest regions of the country. It operated more than 360 stores in 26 states before announcing it was closing 251 of its stores. The company also sold its pharmacy assets.