Final Shopko Stores to Close

All remaining Shopko stores across the country are closing – including the store in Powell.

That’s the latest announcement from the Wisconsin-based retail chain, which says it plans to close its remaining 120 Shopko Stores by mid-June, as they were unable to find a buyer for the business.

WLUK-TV in Wisconsin reports those closings will affect an additional 5,000 employees. In Wyoming, seven stores will close: in Afton, Buffalo, Douglas, Newcastle, Powell, Torrington and Wheatland. Fifty-four employees will be laid off at the Billings location.

While Powell was set to keep its Shopko store if the chain survived, the Powell Tribune reports that the local store is expected to close by June 16^th.

Shopko CEO Russ Steinhorst said it was not the outcome they had hoped for when the company began its restructuring efforts and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January.

Christine Bekes, executive director of Powell Economic Partnership, told the Tribune that while she was sorry for the people who were losing their jobs, she noted that the store’s closing may create opportunities for other local businesses, such as Murdoch’s, Ace Hardware and Lavender Rose.

Prior to the recent string of closures, Shopko operated stores in Powell, Greybull, Worland, Thermopolis, and Buffalo, along with seven others around the state.