Sears department store chain is in serious trouble and considering selling its headquarters or renovating it. The company’s suburban Chicago location has been shrinking.

Transformco (parent company of Sears and Kmart) announced that the company would begin marketing the property of 273 acres in Hoffman Estates, Illinois to potential buyers by early 2022. Transformco is looking into other potential redevelopment options for the site.

The number of Sears employees and Kmart employees who have been employed out of the corporate headquarters is unknown. However, it was home to more than 4,000 workers as per company filings.

Larry Costello, spokesperson for Transformco said many employees have used a combination approach or stayed at home during the epidemic.

Costello said in an emailed statement that these changes had reduced the need for a corporate headquarters, which was constructed 30 years ago to support a central business.

Costello stated, “We are looking at development options for Hoffman Estates property to increase its value for associates based there as well as the wider Hoffman Estates community.”

Transformco’s former Chief Executive Officer at Sears Edward Lampert controls it. He acquired 425 Sears stores and the chain of department stores through a bankruptcy auction in 2019.

Costello stated that there are still over 300 Sears and Kmart stores in America today, in both large format and smaller formats.

Sears, at one stage, was the country’s largest retailer. more than 3,500 locations. Many of the shops closed and others were redeveloped in recent years, as Sears fell out of fashion with its customers. Sears was closed last month. closed the doors to its last-standing store in Illinois.

The property in Hoffman Estates, which includes a 2.3-million-square-foot corporate office, has been Sears’ headquarters since 1992.

The Chicago Tribune first reportedSears Plans