East-side Shopko to close next week; auction could save optical centers

April 12, 2019

With Shopko stores in Sioux Falls entering their final days and weeks of operation, an auction will be held Monday to find a buyer for the bankrupt company’s optical business.

The final day for the east-side Shopko is April 20 – six days later than initially announced — and the 41st Street store is scheduled to close May 19.

At the East Arrowhead Parkway store, rear sections of the sales floor have been taped off, and remaining merchandise has been moved toward the front of the building. The majority of the markdowns are 50 percent to 80 percent off original prices, which appear to be higher than normal Shopko prices, so the deals aren’t as large as customers might expect. Groceries, pet supplies and a few other categories of merchandise are marked at a 30 percent discount.

Fixtures and office furniture also are for sale.

Wisconsin-based Shopko announced in December 2018 that it was closing 39 of its 363 stores. It filed for bankruptcy in January and said 38 more stores would close. In early February, 139 stores were added to the list, and in mid-March, the company announced it could not find a buyer for the remaining stores and would close all of them.

Late last year and early this year, Shopko was able to find buyers for its pharmacy assets, and in the past few months, the company has been working to spin its optical stores into standalone sites and find a buyer. In February, it leased spaces in retail centers on West 41st Street and East 10th Street to replace the optical centers in the nearby closing stores and took out permits to build out the locations.

Construction has started on both locations.

Today is the deadline for bids for the optical business. According to the Green Bay Press Gazette, auction documents state that the winning bidder would be expected to take responsibility for some contracts and leases related to the optical business operations.

Editor’s note: The article has been updated since it was published to reflect a later closing date for the 41st Street store.

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East-side Shopko to close next week; auction could save optical centers

With Shopko stores in Sioux Falls entering their final days and weeks of operation, an auction will be held Monday to find a buyer for the bankrupt company’s optical business.

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