Sears stores in North Texas were not among those identified for closure Thursday as the chain's parent company, Sears Holdings Corp., released a preliminary list of store closings.

The retailer listed 79 Sears and Kmart stores in 25 states after announcing this week that it will shutter as many as 120 stores because of weak holiday sales. The company has 3,560 stores in the U.S.

Florida will be hit the hardest, losing 11 stores, with Ohio, Michigan and Georgia losing six each. Tennessee, North Carolina and Minnesota are set to lose four stores each. Thirty-eight of the 79 stores are Kmarts. None of the closings are in Texas.

A spokeswoman for Sears Holdings said each store employs 40 to 80 people.

More closings will be announced as the stores are identified.

Sears has department stores at many regional malls in the area, including Hulen and Ridgmar in Fort Worth, The Parks at Arlington, North East Mall in Hurst, Irving Mall and Golden Triangle in Denton.

Kmart pulled out of North Texas nearly a decade ago after it filed for bankruptcy in 2002.

Sears and Kmart, both retail pioneers, have suffered in the past decade at the hands of rivals such as Wal-Mart, Target and Kohl's. Under the guidance of hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert, Sears Holdings has focused on cost-cutting and has avoided costly store improvements, leaving the company with aging stores and declining sales.

Sears Holdings said that revenue at stores open at least a year fell by 5.2 percent for the eight weeks that ended Sunday.

The projected closings represent about 3 percent of Sears Holdings' U.S. stores. Sears and Kmart merged in 2005.

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