Sears Hometown files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware

Sears Hometown, the smaller-branded store chain spun off from legendary American retailer Sears, has filed for bankruptcy, a sign of the once-venerable brand's continued decline in the 21st century market. 

The Hometown division filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware this week. The company is held by overseer Transformco. 

Sears Hometown was meant as a more stripped-down and flexible division of the Sears brand; in contrast to the massive mall-associated stores commonly run by Sears, the hometown stores were considerably smaller and focused mostly on appliances and tools. 

The initiative was launched in 2012. There are around 100 Hometown stores still open, down from 700 at peak.