T-R PHOTO BY SARA JORDAN-HEINTZ
Despite many Sears and Kmarts closing nationally, Sears Hometown Store, 507 Iowa Ave. W., will remain open. Next month will mark its 25th year in business locally.

Marshalltown shoppers need not worry about Sears Hometown closing.

Even though 26 Sears and Kmart locations are set to close in October, followed by the recent announcement that nearly 100 additional stores will follow suit by the end of the year, the local store will not be affected.

The Marshalltown Sears Hometown Store, 507 Iowa Ave. W., will remain open. Next month will mark its 25th year in business locally.

Owner Kraig Johnson said Sears Hometown is a separate entity from Sears Holdings. In 2012, Sears Hometown spun off from Sears Holdings and is a completely separate company.

“So when the Kmart here closed in Sept. 2017, and Sears Holdings filed for bankruptcy last fall, we were not apart of that,” he said.

Johnson, who has 33 years of experience in the appliance business, first took on a managerial role at Sears Hometown Store the first year it opened.

“I worked at some other businesses, then purchased the store seven years ago,” he said. “I employ five people.”

The store offers major kitchen appliances, lawn mowers, tools and more, for outdoor and indoor living.

Sears Hometown Stores primarily carry the same inventory, with prices set by corporate.

“We carry the same things a Sears store would but with a smaller footprint,” he said. “We don’t carry things like clothing and jewelry. Most Hometown Stores are franchises.”

There are 12 Sears Hometown Stores in Iowa, including locations in Carroll, Waukee, Fort Dodge, Mason City and other cities.