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Studio 46 - Non-TPiR Discussion => Out In Left Field => Topic started by: Disneyfreak on December 27, 2011, 02:16:01 PM
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I've heard on the news and read in facebook that at least 100 stores in the Sears Holding company will be closing down and the company will release the list soon. I'm praying this won't be the one where I work at (Little Ceasar's inside) K-Mart for two years w/out a raise and not enough hours a week and sad right now.
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Reports are that the local Kmart in my area has very little traffic in the parking lot at any given time, even on Xmas week last week, and not many people working there. Hopefully Kmart and Sears(which goes back to the 19th century) hang in there.
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I hope our local Sears sticks around. I rarely shop there, but I understand and appreciate its longevity, and we do go there occassionally.
The Kmart locations in our area (two of them) closed down nearly ten years ago, so I don't have to worry about that.
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I think here in rockford, il, we have 2 kmarts and I don't think either one of them does that good of business. And we have one sears, so we will have to see if these 3 survive and stay open.
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I'm hoping Indiana doesn't close any of its K-Mart and Sears stores.
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On occasion I do buy from Sears. In fact, I bought my garage door opener from there earlier this year. It's not the first store I think of when needing something though.
K-Mart however, it wouldn't bother me personally at all if they went away. I never shop there, because every store I've been in is a mess. I've never been to an organized, well stocked, clean K-Mart in my life. That's not to say they don't exist somewhere, but the ones in SE Michigan (where their HQ used to be) are mostly old and not well maintained.
The people that would lose out would be the employees, and it's never a good thing to experience a job loss.
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Wouldn't bother me if Sears stores started disappearing, but K-Mart is a whole other story. I remember back when I was very young, I'd go to K-Mart regularly and they had some kind of a pizza business inside, their pizza was like Heaven on Earth, one of the greatest things I ever shoved into my mouth. Unfortunately, they replaced it soon after my childhood memories, I loved that place... hopefully K-Mart as a whole doesn't go anytime soon.
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I was at the Kmart in Plattsburgh, NY about a month ago doing Christmas shopping...and I echo someguy's comments. The store was dingy and run-down, and, while it was fairly well stocked, the selection of merchandise was underwhelming (the electronics department, for one, was severely lacking in variety...and electronics are big-ticket items, you don't keep those understocked). Needless to say, the store was quite empty...lines were virtually nonexistent. The only thing worthwhile in there was the Little Caesar's.
Meanwhile, the Target across the road was extremely clean, neat, and inviting...and had a large variety and selection of merchandise. The Walmart just down the road had been recently renovated, and, while it had a strange layout (mostly due to the fact that it was a regular Walmart that was converted into a Super Walmart, leaving a strange hybrid of the old layout with the normal Super layout), it, too, was well-stocked, clean, and...well, as inviting as Walmart can be, really. Needless to say, both stores were jam-packed full of customers.
Kmart closing stores doesn't affect me much, as the Kmart here closed down years ago. We do have a Sears store in our (crappy) shopping mall...but the store generates enough traffic and performs well enough where I doubt it's in any danger of closing (it gets an extremely large amount of traffic from Canada). I just fear that Kmart's troubles are going to bring Sears down with it, which would be a shame...
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I worked at a Kmart in college to pay the bills, and afterward while looking for "in field" employment. It may have been a hellacious job, especially at this time of year, but I gave it my all.
Several years ago, I went back to that store and was amazed it was even still open. A Saturday afternoon, when in "my" era it was bustling, was virtually dead. The store looked pitiful, to put it nicely.
Closer to where I live now, the Kmart with its huge parking lot looks deserted every time I pass by. When last I ventured in, it, too, looked like time had left the store in the rear view mirror.
If those stores are indicative of the chain as a whole...well, I'm surprised they've held on this long. Walmart long since took the crown on bargain basement pricing, and Target took the place of...well, the not-quite Walmart among discounters. Kmart seemed to be the zombie, just kind of aimlessly wandering, not realizing it was essentially dead.
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Wouldn't bother me if Sears stores started disappearing, but K-Mart is a whole other story. I remember back when I was very young, I'd go to K-Mart regularly and they had some kind of a pizza business inside, their pizza was like Heaven on Earth, one of the greatest things I ever shoved into my mouth. Unfortunately, they replaced it soon after my childhood memories, I loved that place... hopefully K-Mart as a whole doesn't go anytime soon.
Was that pizza place Little Caesar's by any chance? I remember that same restaurant in the Kmart nearest to me. I felt like a part of me died when they replaced it with a baby needs section although there was already a Babies 'R' Us in the same shopping center.
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The K-Mart I went to was in the same location for over 40 years since my mom was a child. Recently they attempted to renew its lease, but sadly Target outbidded them for it.
Because of it, The K-mart their just closed down. They are knocking the building down and rebuilding a new one for Target.
Yep, Greed at its best :-(
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I think they replaced them across the board. "My" old store expanded the baby section into the short-lived pizza space, covering up the door to the restrooms they had added with a shelving unit, but leaving the sign still on the wall. Ditto another store where I worked on loan during a remodeling when I went back. It looked shoddy...all part of the decline.
The K-Mart I went to was in the same location for over 40 years since my mom was a child. Recently they attempted to renew its lease, but sadly Target outbidded them for it.
Because of it, The K-mart their just closed down. They are knocking the building down and rebuilding a new one for Target.
Yep, Greed at its best :-(
How is that greed, though? One company was willing to pay more--it's the way the free market works.
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Retail history has shown that if you can't keep up with the times, you get left in the dust. I do have some fond memories of the Zayre's store in one local mall (besides, I just love the name too), but I recall they were looking low-end and too outdated by the time the chain was bought out by Ames at the end of the 80s. If Sears and K-Mart don't use this as an opportunity to modernize and revamp, it could eventually be the end for real.
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Ah, Ames. Not a chain near me growing up, but where my family went on vacations for a few years, there was an Ames that we would visit. I wasn't surprised to see that chain go under based on that experience....kind of a lower-rent Kmart there. (I went back after it had closed and converted to a sort of indoor flea market with much of the Ames signage still left behind inside...that took what had been a merely comical shopping experience and made it downright sad.)
The closest discount store to my childhood home was one of those that went through a succession of failed second-tier discounters (long before Walmart finally made its grand push into our section of the northeast): Two Guys, Jefferson Ward and Bradlees.
For those from the greater Philadelphia area, though, the discounter I still miss is Clover.
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Was that pizza place Little Caesar's by any chance?
I wasn't sure at first, but I did some Googling a moment ago and found out it was Little Caesar's. If I had known then that Little Caesar's was not K-Mart exclusive, it would've lessened the pain, but I'll still miss it in the former K-Mart. :(
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How is that greed, though? One company was willing to pay more--it's the way the free market works.
Except that the store was there for over 40 years. And then big tyrant Target comes in and basically forces them out.
The power of greed consumes small businesses. No wonder New Yorkers don't want a Wal-Mart in the city.
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Kmart is hardly some little defenseless entity bullied around. They bid, they didn't bid enough, they lost out. That's not being forced out, it's not bidding competitively when the time came.
Target, like Walmart and others before, started out as the small, new kid. Through competitiveness and drive, they built a successful business--not one to everyone's tastes (as no business would be), but successful nonetheless. It wasn't like Walmart or Target magically opened up hundreds of stores out of the blue in one day. They began by offering something consumers wanted, and grew. That's entrepreneurship at work.
We applaud the mom & pop stores, but do they become evil and greedy if they open a second location? A third? At what point do we abruptly stop supporting businesses that succeed in their efforts? When a coffee shop opens its fifh store? Tenth? When they record $100,000 in profits? A million? Two million?
For several reasons, I don't shop at Walmart, but harbor no ill will simply because they built something from the ground up over many years. And if Target found a way to better compete than Kmart--and thus to be in the position to make the highest bid for some piece of real estate--good for them.
(On a side note, wouldn't the so-called blame rest with the property owner, who chose to open it up to bids instead of re-signing Kmart without seeing who would deliver the best result for THEIR company?)
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We used to have a Big Kmart near my house, then that left and it was replaced by sears essentials, but in april that closed after the lease wasnt renewed, now it is an empty building, except if other organizations use it for their business.
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I too am shocked Kmart still exists. The few still in the area are never anywhere near full, not even in the holidays. Their selection is always pitiful, which doesn't help.
I don't know what they were doing folding Sears in with Kmart, either. Now Kmart is just dragging Sears under with it. They'd be better off if they just let Kmart die and try to save Sears.
Note to Homer: Kmart, Target and Walmart all started virtually the exact same year.
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I'm not shocked by the news, but it is kind of sad. I feel bad for the folks who will lose their jobs as a result of the closings. I don't know the reasons for Sears' and K-Mart's problems in the marketplace, but I can speculate. Even though they've updated periodically, Sears is certainly a 20th century store. Their all-things-to-all-people store model was great years ago, but their lack of being the best in any particular area hurts the whole situation, nowadays. There's much more (separate) competition for each department now, too (Big Box stores with more electronics, big home improvement stores, clothing stores with more appealing labels, etc.). They also have lots of salespeople, which is convenient for customers, but is expensive for Sears.
As for K-Mart, I believe (at least with many stores in the northeast) they were asleep at the wheel during the (approx.) mid-to-late 1990s into the 2000s. Many stores were not as well-kept as competitors' stores. Some were in not-so-great neighborhoods. They also weren't offering the great selection stores like Target were. I must say, however, there are several stores in NJ today that are very nice, and I would miss having a K-Mart or Sears nearby. I also question K-Mart's long hours, even on holidays. Again, this is just speculation on my part, but does it really pay to stay open until 10: PM every night? It must cost them a fortune to keep the stores open all those hours. I'm not sure they have enough late-night and holiday business for it to make much sense, but I could be wrong.
I think they replaced them across the board.
By "them," you were referring to the Little Caesar's, right? They didn't replace them across the board. The OP still works at one, and there's one in my local K-Mart.
Even though we've disagreed a lot, I've agreed with most of what you said, imhomerjay. Your responses to Gameshowboy92's posts were spot-on, and I, too, miss Clover.
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I rarely go to Kmart, The stores are old and run down while Target Wal-mart etc is nice and bright and our Wal-mart did a Remodel two years ago, You go to kmart its dingy dark it feels dirty in there. Same with Sears they had a pretty decent concept merging sears as one store i remember reading a few years ago how one sears essentials beat out an Wal-mart for a quarter or something it was interesting. But just like the news said with the economy and having Wal-mart and Target offering lower prices Kmart dint had a leg to stand on.
Also, our town is having a retail boost a lot of new stores is coming down here. The mall here also is 98 percent full also, like it was during the 90s and were getting new shopping centers and restaurants. So if Kmart/Sears close down i don't think people would have trouble finding a job around here.
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KMart a small business? You have got to me kidding me! Look how many stores they have! You should have seen how large their former HQ in Troy, Michigan was!
Target outbid them for the land, plain a simple. It helps the local government as well- more property tax revenue.
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Except that the store was there for over 40 years. And then big tyrant Target comes in and basically forces them out.
The power of greed consumes small businesses. No wonder New Yorkers don't want a Wal-Mart in the city.
You'll forgive me if I don't shed a tear for KMart. In the early 1990s KMart used "eminent domain" to force out people from their homes to build a new store here in Buffalo. Ten years later the store was slated to close, but the city of Buffalo paid KMart to stay open, which they did... for about six months. Their closing left a brand new eyesore in that neighborhood. I pity the neighborhood, but not the corporation.
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By "them," you were referring to the Little Caesar's, right? They didn't replace them across the board. The OP still works at one, and there's one in my local K-Mart.
Ah, had I not been trying to post and had a child yelling something or another in my ear, I might have realized my thought was incomplete. The sentence should have included "...in my area" (as the half dozen or so stores across several counties that I've visited had former pizza-pizza spots converted to junky-junky displays).
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We haven't had a Kmart in Toronto for years now. According to That Other Wiki, Kmart Canada folded in '98 with all their stores becoming Zellers. In an odd turn of events, 15 years later most Zellers stores are being rebranded as Target stores with their first venture into Canada.
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It has been a few years since our mall Country Club Mall in Lavale, MD. Kmart was shut down and torn down for a Wal-Mart. Now we have a Wal-Mart and a half empty mall. If Sears would close that would be another mall store closed. Very very sad.
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We haven't had a Kmart in Toronto for years now. According to That Other Wiki, Kmart Canada folded in '98 with all their stores becoming Zellers. In an odd turn of events, 15 years later most Zellers stores are being rebranded as Target stores with their first venture into Canada.
Sears isn't closing any stores here in Canada for the time being. The K-mart closest to my old home is now a Canadian Tire. And one Zellers store is going to be a Wal-mart express next year in Dorval, Quebec.
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Sears isn't closing any stores here in Canada for the time being. The K-mart closest to my old home is now a Canadian Tire. And one Zellers store is going to be a Wal-mart express next year in Dorval, Quebec.
Therein lies a big problem....after Zellers bought out KMart Canada, Zellers got way too big...273 stores for a store brand like Zellers equaled over-saturation for them, causing the reduction in QUALITY service for their stores, and snuffing out any possible 'Made In Canada' competition....that's why Target is coming into Canada, because not many shoppers, outside the loyal elderly demographic, wanted anything to do with Zellers anymore. Zellers became stodgy, and uncool. Which is why a lot of people are happy Target chose to create a chain for Canada, and get a lot of those Zellers stores out of Canadian cities.
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Wouldn't bother me if Sears stores started disappearing, but K-Mart is a whole other story. I remember back when I was very young, I'd go to K-Mart regularly and they had some kind of a pizza business inside, their pizza was like Heaven on Earth, one of the greatest things I ever shoved into my mouth. Unfortunately, they replaced it soon after my childhood memories, I loved that place... hopefully K-Mart as a whole doesn't go anytime soon.
I wasn't sure at first, but I did some Googling a moment ago and found out it was Little Caesar's. If I had known then that Little Caesar's was not K-Mart exclusive, it would've lessened the pain, but I'll still miss it in the former K-Mart. :(
I say this respectfully, and humorously...
You need to get out (and eat pizza) way more often.
:-D
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You'll forgive me if I don't shed a tear for KMart. In the early 1990s KMart used "eminent domain" to force out people from their homes to build a new store here in Buffalo. Ten years later the store was slated to close, but the city of Buffalo paid KMart to stay open, which they did... for about six months. Their closing left a brand new eyesore in that neighborhood. I pity the neighborhood, but not the corporation.
With respect, Alfonzo, your gripe isn't with Kmart, but with the local government. A retail establishment cannot use eminent domain to force people off their property: only the government itself can do that, and if it hadn't been Kmart, you can rest assured said government would have found something else to put there.
Kmart was my first job, and I think I witnessed the beginning of the long goodbye for that company. My first couple of years, at Christmastime, we'd have "midnight madness" sales with mobs of people chasing the blue light from one special to another. Then we got a new CEO who outlawed Blue Light Specials because in his mind, it was a cheap and degrading way to sell merchandise. (Even if discounting was what made Kmart what it was.) It was obvious that he was setting his sights on competing with Target, when the goal should ALWAYS have been to compete -- and undercut -- Walmart.
He was eventually ousted, Blue Light Specials eventually returned. But the store was NEVER the same. The past few times I've set foot inside a Kmart store, it was so disheveled that I was actually shocked by the conditions inside.
It's a shame to see two long-respected giants in the retail industry falling on such hard times. Hopefully better leadership and a bigger desire to be competitive will turn things around before it really is too late.
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I say this respectfully, and humorously...
You need to get out (and eat pizza) way more often.
:-D
With what I have? I'd be lucky if I could eat pizza in a month. :P
The one place I do order from occasiolly is Domino's. Best pizza in the world.
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The one place I do order from occasiolly is Domino's. Best pizza in the world.
This. :-D
On topic, I'm not a big fan of Sears/K-Mart anyways. Honestly wouldn't matter to me if my local ones closed down.
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Meh.
I'm not a fan of store closings, a K-Mart was near here, but closed in 2009-10.
Also somewhat off-topic, K-Mart owned Waldenbooks and Borders til' 1995, and you know what happened to those two bookstores. :P
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With regard to the infamous Blue Light Specials, I was the "Blue Light" guy during my time there, doing the primary announcing of those specials (on weekends, anyway). It was funny to watch people follow that old contraption around as we would discount the already clearanced merchandise just to get it the heck out of the way. Pre-inventory was the best time...we'd just about give it away to not have to count it during the excruciating inventory process.
At the time, there were no Walmarts in the area, and Target wasn't even in the consciousness of our part of the country. Yet, still, despite the sincere best efforts of....well, most of....the staff, you couldn't help but see the problems with the company.
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Up until the beginning of this year, I had not been in a Kmart for nearly 6 years, when both Kmarts in Mobile closed down. One of them opened back up as Sears after closing, became Sears essentials a few years later, and, ironically, switched back over to Kmart a few months ago.
I must be the odd one out, but I've actually found slightly more variety at Kmart than at Walmart, at roughly the same price or even slightly cheaper (for non-food items). On top of that, the Kmart staff is at least friendly and know where the items are in the store. (Assuming I can even find a sales associate at Walmart, most of them have no idea where an item is in the store. Their only response is "If it isn't on the shelf, we don't have it," to something I could've easily overlooked.) And Kmart is still the only place where I can find my favorite Peanut Butter Twix. :-D
I agree with everyone else, though, that the interior looks run down and dated. Both stores that I've been in since this year look like they haven't been updated since the mid 90s. Both stores still have the "Blue Light Special" signs/carts from the early 2000s, even though they've long been discontinued. One store used the old K-Cafe as a storage area (still had the cafe there) while the other one had replaced the K-Cafe with the baby section. I have seen the amount of shoppers slowly decrease throughout the year, though.
It will be sad when Kmart finally does go bankrupt, as it will give stores like Walmart an even greater monopoly. But, I will not be surprised. I will be shocked if the Sears name goes away forever, though. They look in much better shape.
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With regard to the infamous Blue Light Specials, I was the "Blue Light" guy during my time there, doing the primary announcing of those specials (on weekends, anyway). It was funny to watch people follow that old contraption around as we would discount the already clearanced merchandise just to get it the heck out of the way.
LOL, we have something in common. I was blue-light guy for a while as well. Little old ladies following you around on weekends to see where I was headed next.
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Gooooood afternoon Kmart shoppers....it's that time again. The famous blue light is now flashing in our [men's/women's/toddler's/whatever] department. That means for the next 15 minutes and 15 minutes only, we'll be taking an extra [whatever we think we can get away with this week since the manager isn't stuck working today] off our already discounted clearance merchandise. Be sure to have your merchandise re-priced by one of our associates, and remember, this special is only for the next 15 minutes [or until the vultures pick the rack clean]. And as always, thanks for shopping at the [tiny town] Kmart."
Ah....memories. ;)
I was also often tapped to do the weekend night closing announcements, and general assorted similar stuff until the time came to move on.
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I worked at sears from 2007-2010.
This is not surprising in the slightest. I was expecting more stores, honestly.
When the chains merged it was thought that Kmart stores would become sears essentials or grand stores. In fact, there was talk of renovating the stores across the board. Guess what...never happened. Instead, they further watered down the kenmore brand by placing those products in Kmart stores, and for reasons I'll never understand, kept the Kmart name (which is not held up for affordability like Walmart or trendiness like target) and dropped the grand/essentials rollout. The stores that did get it weren't changed very much at all.
The worst part is that sears and Kmart(shockingly) have had some good ideas. Kmart had a group of test stores in upper central IL that had wider aisles and a gray and green scheme. Sears had a test concept in Georgia that reverted back to the script logo of the 60s, used hardwood floors and broke down the merchandising a bit differently.
If they want to survive, they need to change. Period.
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With respect, Alfonzo, your gripe isn't with Kmart, but with the local government. A retail establishment cannot use eminent domain to force people off their property: only the government itself can do that, and if it hadn't been Kmart, you can rest assured said government would have found something else to put there.
You're 100% correct, Patrick and I actually am aware of eminent domain law (I was secretly waiting for someone to call me out on it. ;-) ) I think I was just airing out my own personal grudges I have with the way the store left the neighborhood (Which had seen much better days).
EDIT: There are now several stand-alone Little Caesar's in my area. The big selling point for them is that their large pizzas are $5 ($7 for a deep dish)
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There are now several stand-alone Little Caesar's in my area. The big selling point for them is that their large pizzas are $5 ($7 for a deep dish)
I don't know how well Little Caesar's is doing in the rest of the country, but I don't see many (any?) stand-alone stores in the Northeast anymore. I remember a few being around many years ago (they had those memorable "Pizza! Pizza!" commercials). They also used to sell pizzas that could be any length the customer ordered, didn't they? Would it be safe to say, if not for the stores inside K-Marts, Little Caesar's would be out of business by now?
EDIT: I just did a search on Google Maps, and there are more than I thought (several in NJ, NY and Pennsylvania). Certainly fewer than there used to be, but more than I expected.
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We haven't had a Kmart in Toronto for years now. According to That Other Wiki, Kmart Canada folded in '98 with all their stores becoming Zellers. In an odd turn of events, 15 years later most Zellers stores are being rebranded as Target stores with their first venture into Canada.
I've been working at the Zellers store at Erin Mills Town Centre for a little over four months now, and we're scheduled to convert to Target some time in the new year along with Square One and many others in the bigger urban areas - we are still waiting for our notice. Some stores in smaller towns will stay as Zellers stores, others will eventually be turned into Sobeys stores, Canadian Tire stores and Wal-Mart stores (the store in Georgetown falls under the latter), and there are other stores they don't know what to do with them
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There was a K-Mart where I live that closed down several years ago. Now, it's the local Ford car dealer there. Ironically, while the then-new Wal-Mart was being built across the street, I would shop at K-Mart during lunch (I worked at Wal-Mart at the time).
We still have a Sears here which is located in a shopping center. In fact, my brother works there.
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My local K-Mart...I have not visited in quite some time. Last I went there, the place was shoddy, the employees incompetent, and the restrooms located at the top of a flight of stairs (which was also right next to the employee clock-in/out area). My mother worked there briefly, and her body ached from using those stairs several times per day.
I have two Target stores nearby -- the two-floor one has a Starbucks near the exit (as I learned the last time I went there, picking up The Price Is Right 2010 for Wii on clearance for something like $5), and the Super Target has a Pizza Hut at the front of the store. There is a third one quite some distance away, which is located within a mall (the only one I have seen of its kind).
Wal-Mart...I have not been to in some time, either. Last I recall, the one nearest to me replaced the cafe with Subway, and "replaced" all the regular employees that used to be there (including one of my aunts) with their own...which I and my mother thought was redundant and a waste.
The local Sears...used to be connected to an indoor mall as did the other "large" stores there, but said mall has since turned into a far less enjoyable outdoor one.
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With respect, Alfonzo, your gripe isn't with Kmart, but with the local government. A retail establishment cannot use eminent domain to force people off their property: only the government itself can do that, and if it hadn't been Kmart, you can rest assured said government would have found something else to put there.
I think that's an oversimplification. I've seen these sorts of deals up close, and it's usually the tail wagging the dog. I doubt the local government was already preparing to condemn those properties and then discovered -- Holy crap! -- it just so happens that Kmart is interested in building there! Obviously the government made eminent domain happen, but I suspect it was at the behest of Kmart.
If they want to survive, they need to change. Period.
More importantly, they need to innovate. They've had a problem for decades of doing little more than constantly playing catch-up with what Walmart is already doing. I remember a period in the 80's when Walmart starting accepting returns with just a receipt and basically no questions asked, while Kmart still made you literally fill out a form in carbon triplicate explaining precisely what was wrong with the product (usually after already explaining it to an employee who seemed disinclined to take it back). Of course Kmart eventually changed that, but only after they'd chased away a lot of customers.
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Would it be safe to say, if not for the stores inside K-Marts, Little Caesar's would be out of business by now?
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Little Caesar's did have standalone commercials on the local station this year.
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Someone had mentioned a K-Mart store being run-down and understocked in their area, but that's not necessarily true for all stores. I was at a K-Mart in Cleveland, OH back in October and they were very-well stocked and had a ton of selection. Perhaps it's small town stores that don't have as much to choose from.
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I see Little Caesar's commercials on a daily basis, but then again I'm in their home market. Yes, they are stand alone stores; some cities have several.
I saw the list of Sears and Kmart closings in my state- none in my immediate area. The original Kmart will also still be open.
PriceFan07- No, it's not just small town stores. Every Kmart in my area I've been to (Metro Detroit) is like this.
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I'm keeping an eye on this website with a list of stores closing and so far I don't see the one where I'm working at this time (Ontario, CA), but I'm still unhappy with the unsanitary and uneithical working conditions that's been going on since day I started. For instances: appearance and behavior has been inappropiate, givng free food/drinks to others, cell phone use and chit chat/gossiping constantly, and filthy areas (including restrooms).
http://searsholdings.com/about/122711_close.pdf
Please don't pass this comment to anyone else outside this forum including facebook and news media, BTW.
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Looks like only 2 of the Sears or Kmart stores in the Denver area are on the list so far. The Kmart closest to me I've been to a few times - it's decent, but never busy. Curiously - when I was in college in Ames, Iowa, the Kmart there was replaced with a Big Kmart and was always very nice. I frequently went there as it was far more convenient for me than Walmart or Target. The Kmart nearest the house I grew up in, on the east side of Des Moines, Iowa is *always* busy. It still has the arched facade that Kmart used in the 70s.
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I'm keeping an eye on this website with a list of stores closing and so far I don't see the one where I'm working at this time (Ontario, CA), but I'm still unhappy with the unsanitary and uneithical working conditions that's been going on since day I started. For instances: appearance and behavior has been inappropiate, givng free food/drinks to others, cell phone use and chit chat/gossiping constantly, and filthy areas (including restrooms).
http://searsholdings.com/about/122711_close.pdf (http://searsholdings.com/about/122711_close.pdf)
Please don't pass this comment to anyone else outside this forum including facebook and news media, BTW.
The media already has it. It was on the news tonight.
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Nothing in our area shutting down--somewhat of a surprise since one local mall has both a Sears and a K-Mart at opposite ends. But, we'll take it.
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I think that's an oversimplification. I've seen these sorts of deals up close, and it's usually the tail wagging the dog. I doubt the local government was already preparing to condemn those properties and then discovered -- Holy crap! -- it just so happens that Kmart is interested in building there! Obviously the government made eminent domain happen, but I suspect it was at the behest of Kmart.
My point was that Kmart specifically wasn't the problem here. The problem was that the government, when presented with enough money from a major business, was willing to invoke eminent domain to make room for it. Had it not been Kmart and another retailer or other large-scale business come in and wanted that area, the government is just as likely to have done the same thing. I doubt anyone bent over backward just because it was Kmart.
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Well the 2 kmarts and sears in my area will be staying open.
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The media already has it. It was on the news tonight.
I'm actually talking about sharing MY comments at the location where I work at not shared with anyone outside this forum. I was warned by corporate not to speak to the media about this.
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I'm actually talking about sharing MY comments at the location where I work at not shared with anyone outside this forum. I was warned by corporate not to speak to the media about this.
When an employer tells you not to speak to "the media," it's probably a safe bet that they mean not to "go public" with information. This is a public forum, even if you don't have a one-on-one conversation with a reporter.
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I have a K-Mart in my area and it survived the chopping block. I very rarely go there, but I'm still happy it's not closing.
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I'm keeping an eye on this website with a list of stores closing and so far I don't see the one where I'm working at this time (Ontario, CA), but I'm still unhappy with the unsanitary and uneithical working conditions that's been going on since day I started. For instances: appearance and behavior has been inappropiate, givng free food/drinks to others, cell phone use and chit chat/gossiping constantly, and filthy areas (including restrooms).
http://searsholdings.com/about/122711_close.pdf
Please don't pass this comment to anyone else outside this forum including facebook and news media, BTW.
I don't think you have to worry about the K-Mart Police patroling a Price is Right fan board looking for negative comments are K-Mart which are all entirely true for almost every location.
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Most of the K-Marts near me have already closed, however.
The last one I went too that closed--I got some good clearance video games for $2 or $3 each in its final days. The other one, which I haven't even been to in years, was kind of thin on its stock and a little bit dirty. But, I have to say the TV I got there 7 years ago there still works for the most part.
As far as Sears, I mentioned this to my grandmother the other day. Interestingly, she feels that Sears hasn't kept with the times and mentioned JCPenney as a more up-to-date competitor. I, personally, haven't shopped in a Sears store in quite a while.
I do feel for those who may/will be losing their jobs though.
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http://searsholdings.com/about/122711_close.pdf
This is the official list, and I'd make sure to go to it once in a while to see if the Sears store near you is closing. So far, the Sears Store in Market place mall is NOT closing.
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Looks like Florida got hit pretty hard...a whopping 11 stores closing. Luckily, I don't see any stores that I've been to are closing, but we still got 20-40 left to add to the list.
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Yes, I know it's a serious offense to bump a thread, especially from six years ago, but I figured it applies now just as much as it did then.
So...Sears is finally biting the dust. This means that all K Mart and Sears stores will close. Does anyone else feel like we're witnessing the end of an era?
Here is one of the many articles on the matter...
https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/15/business/sears-bankruptcy/index.html
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Not necessarily all of them are closing - the Sears store in my hometown here in Washington state is still going to be open. In fact, I think in the past, it's been one of the higher performing locations.
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I believe the Sears store in my home city here in New Hampshire is still going to be open.
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Bankruptcy does not mean that all the stores will close. Case in point: Macy's once declared bankruptcy around 15-20 years ago.
That being said, given the debt that the company has and the decisions that the CEO Eddie Lampert has made that also benefit him greatly, I don't think that it can continue in its current form past January.
The Hometown stores are a separate, but related entity of the Sears and Kmart stores. It's likely that when the company ends, creditors will snap up the assets in exchange for what they're owed. Lampert and his other interests will probably own many of the assets as a result, and he will continue to supply the Hometown stores.
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Chapter 11 is reorganization. Chapter 7 is liquidation.
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Following this round of closures, there will only be three Kmarts remaining here in Tennessee -- one of which being the store my family frequented quite a bit during my childhood. Walmart relocated to a Supercenter on the other side of town back in the mid 90s, leaving Kmart without any real competition. If it wasn't for that, I'd say the store would have shuttered years ago. I'm still surprised it's holding on, though. That parking lot always seems awfully bare every time I drive past. I can't even remember the last time I shopped there, and I'm in the area quite a bit. I guess I better make one last journey there while it's still in business, because Kmart probably won't be around very much longer.
It's a real shame what happened to Kmart and Sears. From what I've gathered, Kmart invested too much in acquiring other businesses during the 90s while Sears ended their catalogue and completely missed the online boon that followed only a few years later. Had Kmart gone the Walmart route of being aggressive with building new stores to replace outdated ones, and Sears beaten Amazon to the punch for online retail, both companies would probably still be thriving (and independent from one another). Now we're on the verge of losing both. Very sad.
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Chapter 11 is reorganization. Chapter 7 is liquidation.
Sorry. For some odd reason, I thought it was the other way around.
I'd like to share another article I found:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/06/18/sears-ceo-eddie-lampert-kmart/638218002/
It appears that CEO Eddie Lampert is trying hard to keep the company alive. Perhaps there's hope for Sears (and Kmart) after all. We'll just have to wait and see.
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This is just one more step in an inevitable march toward oblivion.
Combining two weak companies was never a good plan, and while it perhaps took longer to collapse than some other bad decisions, it is collapsing and this isn’t going to stop that.
I worked for a number of years at a Kmart. The store was almost always hopping. It underwent a renovation shortly before I departed. The last time I stopped in, it was a sad state of affairs. It looked like it had barely received any TLC in the ensuing 20 years, and what changes happened were decidedly for the worse. We once had enough business to have 15 registers open at peak times. It was a desolate, depressing sight.
I would ultimately come to live where our region’s “showcase” store was. I went in before that store found itself on the chopping block, and it was equally dismal. When your electronics department, or what’s left of it, still has wall signage boasting fax machines well into the 21st century...you’ve failed to invest.
Contrast that to my local Target, now on something like its third remodel in 15 or so years, plus periodic cosmetic upgrades along the way.
Meantime, our Sears shrunk by 2/3. On the up side, it’s now just one junky floor instead of three.
The company had a long and remarkable run, but didn’t have yet another reinvention to pull off. That’s the way it goes sometimes.
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We had a Kmart it closed down a few year's ago now they are turning the building into a shopping center i was surprised they didn't tore the building down. They replaced it with a crappy store called Gabes its like Forman Mills but worse.
Our local sears closed down recently they are closing down 2 more sears which is 30 mins from us they are much nicer stores in Malls. It will be interesting to see what the Mall is going to do to replace the stores.
Kmart and Sears is dying a very slow painful death its a matter of time before both store closes. I think they should of never merged and they should of remodeled and kept up with modern times. Both stores were dirty and outdated.
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Not a Kmart in sight in H-town.
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I honestly believe that if Sears and or Kmart have a bad holiday season, they may not exist this time next year.
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They will...and they won’t. In that order.
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Our local Kmart and Sears closed down a few years ago. They split the kmart building into 3 stores. The Sears building still sits empty. They announced they are closing the mall sears which is 35 mins away from me.
I had to get some testing done for my new job in this nearby shore town and i drove past a Kmart i went inside and it was very nice and newer looking. They seem to be doing well considering Walmart and Target is 20 mins away from town.
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We had a small Kmart discount store from 1970 to October 1993 in Victoria, Texas. In October 1993 it closed and we got a huge (200,000 sq. ft.) Super Kmart Center that was open 24 hours everyday. For those of you who have never been in a Super Kmart Center, it's like a Walmart Supercenter. General merchandise on one side, groceries (produce, deli, bakery, frozen/refrigerated, dairy, meat, etc.) on the other. Unfortunately, it only lasted for just over 8 and a half years. In late May/early June 2002, the store closed during Kmart's first big round of bankruptcy closures. In early 2002, there were 130 Super Kmart Centers in the U.S. with plans to continue the growth to hundreds more, but after the bankruptcy closures in 2002 and again in 2003, many were closed and the plans for future Super Kmart Centers were scrapped. Over the next 15-16 years, more Super Kmart Center locations closed or were downgraded to regular Kmarts with the entire grocery section removed. The last Super Kmart Center (Warren, Ohio) closed on April 8, 2018. I miss our Super Kmart Center terribly. It was very clean, well stocked, organized, spacious, and had good lighting. Nothing like these small dirty, outdated Kmarts.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-faesVBw2-TY/UdcfXGPh2wI/AAAAAAAAEx8/kKm_EJt-OhQ/s1600/P1060280.JPG
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yZpr_hlzGGU/VsKfOyEP2KI/AAAAAAAAYBk/f7QmShWF_Ts/s1600/IMG_4637.JPG
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One mall about 15 miles from here had both a Sears and a Kmart for years. They closed down within a year of each other (first the former, then the latter, and the mall itself has now closed and been demolished. Another Kmart at another mall 12 miles to the north (which had replaced an Ames which had replaced a Zayre's in that location, if anyone remembers those chains as well) shut down earlier this year. Although a bit outdated, both had a charm to them, and they will be missed.
To thus extend this another way, what other old gone retailers do you all remember and miss? Besides the aforementioned Ames and Zayre's, some of the stores I once enjoyed visiting include,
-Hill's (where it was indeed true, as the commercials once crowed, that it was where the toys are/were)
-Gee Bees (loved the rainbow colors on the walls; that the checkouts had overhangs above them made that area seem a bit more special to me)
-J.J. Newberry's (the location in town had large aisle numbers overhead that fascinated young me)
-Value City
-McCrory's
-Jamesway (primary anchor of the shopping center on the east side of town for years, a plaza that also included such missed establishments as A & P, Radio Shack, and Rea & Derick drugstore--and the Jamesway seemed like an epic place to be back then)
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the plans for future Super Kmart Centers were scrapped.
Yeah, we were supposed to get a Kmart Super Center in Milwaukee, but only the building shell was ever constructed. Eventually, five smaller stores (https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9795312,-87.9500954,127a,35y,274.9h,45t/data=!3m1!1e3) moved in (one tore down the garden center). One of them, as I just found out today, is closing itself (https://www.hoboonline.com).
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To thus extend this another way, what other old gone retailers do you all remember and miss?
Service Merchandise always had very cool things to look at (at least to 10-year old me) in their store. Radio Shack was another store I liked in my teen years with all the computers they had on display.
The college town I lived in for a time (Ames, Iowa) had a “Big” Kmart on the southeast edge of town that happened to be closest to my apartment. Not quite a “Super” Kmart, but it was a larger store and had some selection of groceries. I always thought it was the nicest of the three discount chains. Then Target built a new store up the street. That was the beginning of the end for Kmart, but it took a long time for it to go away.
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I live near Memphis which is where the closest Sears stores are to me, 2 are big ones in malls and one is a Sears Hometown Store which is very small, about the size of 2 pizza huts put together, the 2 mall ones are indeed closing December 31st they're doing liquidation now the little one hasn't made an announcement but someone told me that it's no longer owned by Sears that the new owners kept the name, not sure how they can do that, but anyway. I only ever shopped at the one nearest me in the mall and it was rare that I was able to, but me and some friends are gonna go next month for one last look around to see if we can get some Christmas deals.
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The Hometown and Hardware stores are indeed different entities, though through some relationship to the parent company they maintained the use of the name. I recall reading through the twisted tale of all Mr. Lampert has done over the years and the various side deals. Not important enough to try to memorize it, but that basic concept stuck with me.
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New info: After a bankruptcy hearing in court on Tuesday, January 8, the bankruptcy court Judge Robert Drain deemed that the bid which was submitted by CEO Eddie Lampert's hedge fund is acceptable to keep Sears open. However, the approval comes with a catch; namely, that a $120 million dollar cash payment must be submitted by Wednesday afternoon as a deposit. If not, Sears may have to begin liquidation proceedings. In a nutshell, there is hope, but very little, seeing as how poorly Sears has done over the past decade. We will just have to sit tight and see what happens.
The article:
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/01/08/business/sears-future-bankruptcy-delay/index.html
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Why drag out the inevitable?
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Just wanted to put it out there. Perhaps some of us aren't aware. Just covering all the bases for ya!
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However, the approval comes with a catch; namely, that a $120 million dollar cash payment must be submitted by Wednesday afternoon as a deposit. If not, Sears may have to begin liquidation proceedings.
This is...where it counts.
#HangInThereSears