Sears is looking to reopen a store in Los Angeles County, a rare event for the once-mighty retailer that has closed hundreds of locations across the country.

The store will open in a roughly 130,000-square-foot space at Burbank Town Center in Burbank, California, on Oct. 22, according to Sears' owner Transformco's website.

The location, at 111 E. Magnolia Blvd., is a three-story longtime Sears that closed in December 2022 but hinted at reopening earlier this year. Eric Maenner, the general manager of Burbank Town Center, confirmed to CoStar News plans for a "soft opening."

The Burbank reopening comes as other big-box retailers plot a comeback, though they face stiff competition from both online and brick-and-mortar sellers. Toys R Us plans to open stores next year after shuttering locations when it filed for Chapter 11.

Sears' relaunch shows the chain is interested in expanding nationally, said Gabe Kadosh, a retail property broker and vice president of Colliers who isn't involved with Sears at Burbank Town Center. The company may find success selling mattresses, appliances and apparel as consumers like to come into stores to see those goods before purchasing, Kadosh said.

"I could see this being as a test to reopen in other markets with this type of store," Kadosh said. "If merchandised correctly, it could do well."

The new store is displaying signs that say "Rediscover Sears," and its second-floor shelves could be seen through a window Tuesday stocked with men's and women's apparel along with toys such as Mickey Mouse plush dolls. The store is also expected to sell mattresses and appliances, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Transformco didn't respond to an emailed request to comment. Burbank Town Center's owner, Onni Group, declined to comment further.

After several years of declining sales, Sears' then-parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018. Stores have closed since from a peak of about 3,500 Sears and Kmart locations.

Sears now only has about a dozen stores still in operation, according to media reports.

The chain is no stranger to reopening stores, both in the Los Angeles neighborhood of North Hollywood and in Oak Brook, Illinois, in recent years. Both stores later closed.

Meanwhile, shuttered Sears locations have been targeted for redevelopment. In Glendale, California, a former Sears may become hundreds of apartments in the city's downtown area, and a property in suburban Chicago may become an e-commerce distribution hub.

Sears' former headquarters campus in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, was recently sold for $194 million to Compass Datacenters, which envisions data centers for the site.

The nearest Sears location to Burbank is a store in Whittier, a roughly 30-mile drive away, according to Sears' website.