When the Shopko Corporation announced in January it was filing for bankruptcy, the plan was to close most of the stores around the country, but keep several others in operation as the company restructured its business.

However, the general merchandise retailer announced this week that it would be closing all of its stores, including the location in Perry. The company reportedly couldn’t find a buyer for its business, and as a result will be liquidating its remaining assets and closing all locations by June 16th of this year. Perry residents had hoped their store would stick around, considering it was one of around 120 locations that wasn’t on the proverbial corporate chopping block. However, the writing on the wall began to show as employees noticed stocking requests went unanswered, particularly in the home entertainment section.

In a statement, Shopko CEO Russ Steinhorst said the company will begin winding down the retail operations starting this week, and will look into selling the optical side of the business. They were able to sell the pharmacy side of operations to the Kroeger Corporation in December. The closure of nearly 300 stores around the nation will result in hundreds of jobs lost. In Perry, City staff is unsure what will become of the Shopko building located next to Hy-Vee on Highway 141. However, they’re hopeful that given the positive growth of retail in the City over the last couple years, the location won’t be vacant for long after June.