After its journey through bankruptcy, Sears is getting ready to open its first batch of smaller stores that won't carry clothing but will instead focus on appliances, mattresses and home services. The move comes after Sears has shuttered hundreds of stores in recent years. The first three stores called Sears Home & Life will open at the end of May and are a fraction of the size of the company's traditional stores. They range in size from about 900 to 1,400 sqm. The average Sears is about 14,400 sqm. Each of the new stores will sell both major and small kitchen appliances. Customers can meet with experts to explore how new appliances will look in their home. They will also have kiosks where shoppers can order items available online from Kmart and Sears and have them delivered to the store or home.

The initiative come nearly two months after a bankruptcy court judge approved the sale of Sears' assets to company chairman and largest shareholder Eddie Lampert for $5.2 billion in a bankruptcy auction. With the deal, the newly formed company, which doesn't have a name, kept 425 stores open and saved roughly 45,000 jobs.

The new smaller stores will be located in Overland Park, Kansas; Lafayette, Louisiana; and Anchorage, Alaska.