Shopko to shutter 13 stores in Utah after filing for bankruptcy

The general product retailer Shopko will be closing more than 100 stores nationwide, including 13 in Utah, after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Wednesday.

Excess debt and ongoing competitive pressures prompted the move, the company said in a news release. The company was in the midst of closing more than 60 stores, according to CBS News, and added 38 more closures after its bankruptcy announcement.

A spokeswoman with the company did not respond to a request for comment on how many employees would be affected by the closures in Utah.

“This decision is a difficult, but necessary one,” Russ Steinhorst, the company’s chief executive officer, said in a news release. “In a challenging retail environment, we have had to make some very tough choices, but we are confident that by operating a smaller and more focused store footprint, we will be able to build a stronger Shopko that will better serve our customers, vendors, employees and other stakeholders through this process.”

Shopko is one of many big box retails stores that has struggled in recent years in the face of changing retail dynamics such as the rise of online shopping. There were nine retail bankruptcies by April 2017 — more than all of 2016 combined, according to The Atlantic. J.C. Penney, RadioShack, Macy’s and Sears announced each announced closures of more than 100 stores that year.

The company, which is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin and was founded in 1962, will relocate more than 20 optical centers to freestanding locations and is conducting an auction process for its pharmacy business, according to the release. As part of its financial restructuring, Shopko has obtained up to $480 million in financing from Wells Fargo Bank that will allow it to continue operations.

The closure will leave seven Shopko stores statewide — in Ballard, Layton, Logan, Moab, Riverdale, Salt Lake City and Tremonton.