GREEN BAY, WIS. – Shopko announced on Wednesday that it, along with its subsidiaries, has filed voluntary petitions for a court-supervised financial restructuring under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.

The company is seeking to facilitate the restructuring as a result of excess debt and ongoing competitive pressures. The petitions have been filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nebraska.

During the restructuring process, Shopko will continue to operate and serve its customers, vendors, partners and employees.

“This decision is a difficult, but necessary one,” said Russ Steinhorst, Chief Executive Officer. “In a challenging retail environment, we have had to make some very tough choices, but we are confident that by operating a smaller and more focused store footprint, we will be able to build a stronger Shopko that will better serve our customers, vendors, employees and other stakeholders through this process.”

In order to position the company for future success, Shopko has announced that it will be closing an additional 38 stores, relocating over 20 optical centers to freestanding locations, and conducting an auction process for its pharmacy business. These include locations in Rochester and Fairmont, both slated to close on April 15.

Austin’s Shopko location, however, will remain open as the company continues to optimize its store footprint.

Shopko’s corporate office could not be reached for comment.

Additionally, encouraged by the performance of the four freestanding optical centers that were opened in 2018, Shopko plans to continue to grow its optical business by opening additional freestanding optical locations during 2019.

Additional information is available on the company’s restructuring website at http://info.shopko.com or by clicking on the restructuring link on www.shopko.com.