Beaver Dam Shopko To Close Along With Remaining Stores

(Beaver Dam) Shopko will be closing all remaining stores. The location in Beaver Dam was among the last to survive previous rounds of store closure announcements.

The retail chain says it was unable to find a buyer despite its best efforts. Shopko is expected to begin a wind-down of its operations beginning this week and the company is evaluating its options for the optical division. Initially, Shopko had considered an auction but now it’s being reported that Gordon Brothers will oversee a 10-to-12-week liquidation process.

Shopko CEO Russ Steinhorst tells WFRV that this was not the outcome they had hoped for when they started their restructuring effort. Steinhorst thanked all the company’s “teammates for their hard work and dedication during their time at Shopko.” The retailer says it is hoping to minimize the impact of the closures on its teammates, customers, vendors – and their communities – by committing to an orderly wind-down of operations.

Shopko initially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January. The Beaver Dam store stayed open despite closure announcements last month from neighboring stores in Mayville, Columbus and Watertown. Pharmacy operations at the Beaver Dam store also had ceased and were transferred to Walgreens. Also last month, Payless Shoe Source announced it was closing all of its stores, which included its location in the Beaver Dam Shopko.