Shopko Files for Bankruptcy, Two Sioux Falls Stores to Close

UPDATE: According to the Shopko website, two Sioux Falls locations are slated to close by April 15, 2019.

• 1601 W. 41st St.
• 4501 E. Arrowhead Parkway

In a move that really didn't surprise anyone, Shopko announced that it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

On a website set up specifically for the announcement, Skopko made the following announcement:

"On January 16, 2019, Shopko, a leading operator of general merchandise stores throughout the Central, Western and Pacific Northwest regions of the U.S., announced that it, along with its subsidiaries, has filed voluntary petitions for a court-supervised financial restructuring under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code."

CEO Russ Steinhorst stated in a press release that the company fully expects to emerge from bankruptcy in a better situation.

“This decision is a difficult, but necessary one. In a challenging retail environment, we have had to make some very tough choices, but we are confident that by operating a smaller and more focused store footprint, we will be able to build a stronger Shopko that will better serve our customers, vendors, employees and other stakeholders through this process.”

The Wisconsin-based company will remain open as it proceeds through bankruptcy, but future store closings are planned. In addition, Shopko will spin off its optical business into standalone locations and will continue to phase out its pharmacy operations.

"Additionally, encouraged by the performance of the four freestanding Optical centers that were opened in 2018, Shopko plans to continue to grow its optical business by opening additional freestanding Optical locations during 2019," stated the press release.

The company plans to release a list of store closings Wednesday afternoon. We will have more information at that time as to how the closures affect South Dakota.