Sears to Buy Huntington Beach Wards

Sears, Roebuck & Co. said it will acquire 18 former Montgomery Ward & Co. stores and 10 freestanding auto centers, and may take over service contracts with 2.4 million Montgomery Ward customers.

The purchase includes the Montgomery Ward store at the Huntington Beach Mall, which is scheduled for renovation. The Montgomery Ward store is expected to be made into a Great Indoors store, Sears’ new chain of home-remodeling and decorating stores.

Sears, the biggest U.S. department store company, also said it will buy certain assets from A&E; Signature Service, a national repair business owned by bankrupt Montgomery Ward.

Terms weren’t disclosed.

Owners of the Huntington Beach Mall said they hope to buy the Montgomery Ward building and land from Sears, tear it down and put up a new structure, then lease it to Sears.

The new Great Indoors could open next year, said Douglas Gray, president of mall owner Ezralow Retail Properties LLC in Tustin. The mall renovation is not expected to be completed until 2003, Gray said.