HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. - Following a "challenging" holiday season, Sears will speed up the closing of some of its stores.

Comparable-store sales in the fourth quarter dropped 6.9 percent at Sears, and 7.2 percent at Kmart, which the company also owns.

While the quarter that contains the critical shopping season was better compared with the previous three quarters, overall same-store sales fell 9.2 percent in 2015, with Sears stores leading the decline.

Sears Holdings Corp. says the closures will include, but not be limited to, about 50 stores that the company recently announced it would be closing in the next few months.

None of the looming store closures are scheduled to take place within the boundaries of Louisiana, according to Sears Corporate.