A department store chain that has served the area for nearly a century is closing its doors.

A news release on Monday, July 2, 2018, announced that Magic Mart will be ceasing operations. The news release came from the parent company, Ammar’s Inc., based in Bluefield, Virginia. The chain has served southern West Virginia, southwestern Virginia and eastern Kentucky for more than 97 years.

“It is with much sadness that this is occurring, but the difficult economic conditions that continue to persist in the markets we operate in have left the company no other choice,” said Ammar’s, Inc. President, K.A. (Trey) Ammar, III in a letter to the employees. “We have attempted to address this issue in a variety of ways, but, unfortunately, we have not been successful in these efforts. We thank you for your valued service to Ammar’s and we are sorry that this decision had to be made.”

Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notices (WARN) have been issued to all employees which states the reason for the closure is continued inadequate sales leading to financial losses.

The company intends to begin liquidating inventory around August 1, 2018. All locations are expected to be closed sometime around November 1, 2018. According to the company website, there are more than a dozen stores located in Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. In April of this year, the company announced the closure of its store in Lexington, NC. Its Rainelle location was shut down in September 2014.