By August 2019, there were 393 Hometown Stores in operation just prior to their sale to Transform Holdco. In May 2022, it was announced that roughly 100 more Sears Hometown stores would close permanently, This came shortly after the company announced plans to close 70 Hometown stores. By September 2022 the number of remaining stores was less than 150. On December 13, 2022, Sears Hometown filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It was later revealed that all remaining Sears Hometown stores would be liquidated and permanently closed. Sears Outlet Store An outlet version of Sears department stores located in various retail locations across the U.S., as well as online. The stores sell appliances, apparel, mattresses, sporting goods, tools, and lawn and garden equipment. Sears Outlet provides in-store and online access to new, one-of-a-kind, out-of-carton, discontinued, obsolete, used, reconditioned, overstocked, and scratch-and-dented merchandise at a discounted price (at twenty to sixty percent off regular retail price) Each store, on average, is larger than 18,000 square feet in size. In 1968, Sears opened a surplus store in Kansas City. In 1994, the surplus stores were renamed to Sears Outlet. In 1995, Sears Outlet restructured in order to manage repairs and product distribution from a centralized location. To do this, they established a series of facilities known as Outlet Repair and Distribution Centers. In 2015, there were 22 of these centers in operation. In 2008, apparel was introduced to Sears Outlet stores and served as a liquidation outlet for Lands' End. In 2009, SearsOutlet.com was launched as an e-commerce platform allowing customers to purchase items online and in 2011, nationwide delivery was offered. In 2012, Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores was spun off from Sears Holdings. At the time of the separation, there were 122 Sears Outlet Stores in operation. By February 2014, Sears Outlet stores had expanded its operations to 143 locations. The majority of Sears Outlet stores are company-operated (115) and 28 Sears Outlet stores are locally owned and operated by franchisees. Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores initiated a program to franchise Sears Outlet stores in 2012. In 2013, home appliances made up 78% of Sears Outlet's sales revenue and total revenue from Sears Outlet stores was $610 million. In 2014, Sears Outlet partnered with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to support children with life-threatening conditions. By August 2019, 127 Outlet Stores were in operation. In 2019, it was reported that this division might