Struggling department store chain Sears closing more stores

Struggling department store chain Sears says it's closing even more stores as it tries to turn around its business.

Sears Holdings Corp. CEO Eddie Lampert said in a blog post Friday that the company would close another eight Sears and 35 Kmart stores that are unprofitable by early October. Hundreds of store closings have already been announced this year.

Sears had said in March that there was "substantial doubt" it could continue after years of bleeding money, though it has insisted that its actions to regroup should help reduce that risk. With more people shopping online, mall foot traffic has dropped.

Lampert noted Friday that Sears has opened smaller stores to attract customers and is on track to cut $1.25 billion in yearly costs.

There were 624 Kmart stores and 651 Sears stores as of the end of April.

Sears stock dipped 2.1 percent to $7.76 in afternoon trading.