The owner of Pearlridge Center in Aiea is mulling options to replace the aging Sears store with additional dining and entertainment tenants as the venerable retailer struggles to stay afloat.

Washington Prime Group, parent company of Pearlridge, is already making plans to redevelop the space, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Sears Holdings Corp. has a long-term lease for the Pearlridge store, one of five Hawaii outlets it is trying to sell or auction off as part of its bankruptcy.

“If Sears should no longer operate the location in the future, Washington Prime Group, the parent company of Pearlridge Center, will explore opportunities to re-position the space,” said Washington Prime spokeswoman Kimberly Green in an email. “The future redevelopment opportunity at Pearlridge Center illustrates our mandate to diversify tenancy with new dining and entertainment options and strengthen this property as the dominant enclosed shopping center in Hawaii. Since Sears continues to operate this location, it’s premature to share additional details at this time.”

The Illinois-based department store chain has taken substantial hits year after year as discount and online retailers take a larger chunk of the market. Sears began drastically reducing its number of stores even before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October as it struggles to stay relevant in a retail market full of big-box giants, including Walmart, Home Depot and Best Buy, competing for its core appliance sales.

“The owners of Pearlridge see this as an opportunity to capitalize on the ongoing trend of adding experience-type tenants to their mall,” said Duane Shimo­gawa, a real estate analyst at Avalon Development. “With Sears struggling to stay afloat, the timing is great for Pearlridge’s owners to take back that huge big-box space and convert it into a mixed-use shopping and dining area that should draw more consumers to the state’s second-largest mall.”

Sears operates five Hawaii locations at Pearlridge Center, Windward Mall, Prince Kuhio Plaza in Hilo, an appliance store at Ala Moana Center and an outlet at the Queen Kaahumanu Center in Kahului, which are among 505 of the company’s most profitable stores on the auction block, according to court documents.

The retailer closed its flagship store in 2013 after spending more than 50 years at Ala Moana Center, making way for a $570 million Ewa wing expansion. Sears, one of Ala Moana’s original tenants when it opened in 1959, sold its lease back to Ala Moana owner General Growth Properties Inc. for $250 million.

An auction of Sears’ assets was scheduled for Monday.