HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings Corp., the corporate parent of Sears and Kmart stores, plans to shutter 68 Kmart stores and 10 Sears stores this summer in an effort to stem financial losses. Most of the stores will be closed by late July.

“The decision to close stores is a difficult but necessary step as we take aggressive actions to strengthen our company, fund our transformation and restore Sears Holdings to profitability,” Sears Holdings chief executive officer Eddie Lampert said in a statement.

Sears Holdings reported a loss of $580 million in the quarter ended January 30, compared with a loss of $159 million in the year-ago quarter. Sears had 941 Kmart and 731 Sears stores in January, down from 1,152 and 828, respectively, three years ago.

The closing Kmart and Sears stores were to hold liquidation sales starting April 29.