Owner Of Kmart, Sears To Close Falls Twp. Warehouse, Lay Off 147

The owner of what remains of Kmart and Sears is closing its massive warehouse in Falls Township.

Transform Warehouse Operations LLC, which is owned by Transform SR Brands LLC, filed a notice this week with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry that it is closing its facility at 1 Kresge Road.

The closure will lead to 147 layoffs, according to the filing.

The filing lists the planned closing date of Sept. 16.

The massive warehouse is roughly 2.2 million square feet.

Kmart and Sears used the warehouse for decades. In recent years, trucks from Amazon and other retail transportation companies have sat in the parking lot.

Transform Warehouse Operations markets itself as a logistics company willing to work with different businesses “seeking efficient and cost-effective supply chain solutions.”

The company has its other warehouses in California, Florida, and Kansas.

While the areas Kmart and Sears stores closed years ago, the company still operates a handful of locations under those brand names. The Kmart and Sears websites still operate as e-commerce sites.

Kresge Road, where the warehouse is located, is named after Allentown-born S. S. Kresge, the founder of the department store company that was later renamed Kmart.

The location was the site of a massive fire that ripped through Kmart’s original warehouse in 1982. The fire caused more than $110 million in losses and led to the company building the current facility.