Sears is not completely closing at Nittany Mall

Sears is not shutting down all of its services at Nittany Mall, according to auto center manager Denise Meyers.

Sears Holdings announced in a release Thursday the College Township location would close in January, but did not detail the intricacies of the shuttering. The corporate office also did not respond to requests for comment.

If the auto center were embedded with the closing anchor store, Meyers said, it’s possible it would also close. She said Monday the anchor store and auto center report to different divisions of Sears Holdings due to being in separate buildings, so they are not necessarily part of the same entity.

“We’re doing well and staying open,” Meyers said. “We’ve had many phone calls and people have been quite distraught.”

A woman who called in recently cried over the phone, she said. A man entered the auto center last week and asked to buy tires despite not needing any after hearing the news.

“I’m really touched by the outpouring of support people have shown us,” Meyers said.

The Nittany Mall’s anchor store is one of 18 that will close.

“Sears Holdings continues its strategic assessment of the productivity of our Kmart and Sears store base and will continue to right-size our store footprint in number and size. In the process, as previously announced we will continue to close some unprofitable stores as we transform our business model so that our physical store footprint and our digital capabilities match the needs and preferences of our members,” a statement by Sears Holdings said.

The stores will remain open through Christmas, but liquidation sales could start this week.

This story was originally published November 6, 2017 at 3:02 PM with the headline "Sears is not completely closing at Nittany Mall."