Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Predicting the demise of Sears & Kmart since 2017!
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Super S
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by Super S »

storewanderer wrote:I was in a Sears today in Aberdeen, WA. It is just what you expect. This is a basically abandoned mall and Sears is the only retailer in an anchor space. There is some sort of indoor rec facility in another former anchor space and an operating cinema in another anchor space. The mall itself is largely abandoned.

The Sears was trying to make a go of it but it was pretty bad. Giant empty spaces in men's and children's clothing. Lots of appliances out in walkways to give an appearance of items on the sales floor. Tools/hardware areas were trying to appear full but as you looked more closely, lots of out of stocks.

The Sears also had a strange logo I never saw before. It was just basic plain text "SEARS." That logo must pre-date me.
That mall was built in the early 1980s.

That Sears has the Times New Roman logo on the outside, but surprisingly, has the 1990s logo on the inside mall entrance. The rec center is a former JCPenney, and the big empty "hole" at the front of the mall is where a Kmart once stood that was closed in the early 2000s. The building was demolished due to structural issues, which are evident by the wavy floors in parts of the mall. There is also a GNC still open in the mall that has a logo that was used for a very short time before returning to their old one still in use today.

Aberdeen's economy has struggled more than just about everywhere in western Washington, not just due to an economy heavily dependent on timber and fishing, but also due to the Satsop nuclear plant that was never finished which is not too far away. (This was a WPPSS plant, better known as "Whoops" where construction stopped in the 1980s due to a loan default.) The owner of the theater actually took ownership of the mall within the last couple years, but with malls in general on the decline, it will be a miracle if they ever fill this one up again as big names won't open in areas with a bad economy.

According to news stories Sears owns their own space. However, they are in no hurry to unload this one. Aberdeen isn't exactly an area in demand at the moment. This location will either hang on until the very end, or just close when sales fall below a certain point. I do not believe this location has ever been remodeled. This is the only true "mall" on the Washington coast.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by wnetmacman »

rwsandiego wrote:
storewanderer wrote:...The Sears also had a strange logo I never saw before. It was just basic plain text "SEARS." That logo must pre-date me.
Hmmm...I'm 53 and the Sears exterior logos I recall are:
I'm 45, and I remember first seeing that Times New Roman signage in 1979 when my local store moved out to the mall. It had the script logo just before. I didn't think they still had any stores open with it, but I guess not.

To say that Sears really struck out on logos in the last 30 years is an understatement.

The current logo is just disappointing and lazy, much like the company has become.

On a related note, I stopped by my current local store, which is closing (Lafayette, LA; one of the top stores just a few years back). The store was a mess, and the employees were far less than courteous. I had one guy in tools just simply ask "What do you want?" when I walked up to the register to buy a tool to use up my SYW points (which they accepted).
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by SamSpade »

Anecdote here from Portland... Sears at Washington Square was really throwing itself into the 'friends and family' sale they had over the weekend. I also work remotely for a firm that runs advertising in the Salt Lake City - Ogden - Provo market.
1. There was an ad schedule on our properties to push the sale in Utah, including an appearance
2. Here, I was in the store after having kind of a frustrating time working through WSM and of course found some good bargains in Lands End again. This store must be doing "okay" because it seems to have just about enough labor to keep it tidy and maintained. The escalator well to the basement had one burned out decorative light fixture but otherwise this store looked presentable.

Interestingly, during the "Friends and Family" event on Sunday, they had all these 3rd party vendors in the store. It felt like a Mexican vendor marketplace you find in some of these malls that sometimes die out. There were several ladies trying to sign people up to sell Avon, Tupperware, etc. as well as Ochoas Lupita's (local taqueria chain) serving up food outside in the parking lot.

While I was there the manager (I assume, because it was the same voice every time) was announcing (un)advertised specials. The first one was trying to push their Craftsman tool sets that are supposedly over $300 for about $250 or so if I recall... "only 10 left." :lol:

The second special was pretty cool, he actually named both men who were working in the footwear department by (first) name and they were quite visible when you walked by the department. Apparently shoes were an extra 10% off already marked sale prices.

Finally, after I had to wait a bit to check out in Lands End, where the associates both acknowledged me waiting and put my merchandise in one of the nice blue wicker handled bags, the final sale special was in young men's with an honestly hot price on Levi's jeans ($29.99 if I recall). Again, the sales associate was mentioned by name and I think the idea was she would be there and ready to help.

Honestly, it made the store have a feeling of energy and movement and excitement in a way that most mall stores (especially department stores) usually don't. It was kind of like the "blue light special" of yore, but I don't suppose there's really anything wrong with that, right?
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by rwsandiego »

wnetmacman wrote:
rwsandiego wrote:
storewanderer wrote:...The Sears also had a strange logo I never saw before. It was just basic plain text "SEARS." That logo must pre-date me.
Hmmm...I'm 53 and the Sears exterior logos I recall are:
I'm 45, and I remember first seeing that Times New Roman signage in 1979 when my local store moved out to the mall. ...
Here's a picture (courtesy of The Daily Herald) of the Woodfield Mall Sears on opening day, September 9, 1971:

Image

Note the logo.

As a little kid, I remember Six Corners having the same logo on the store. Golf Mill and Oakbrook Center both had the script logo, as they were opened in 1960 and 1962, respectively.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by SamSpade »

Country Club Mall in Idaho Falls had the Times New Roman logo inside (red) and the script outside. This was because Sears was built before the mall.
(this mall was demolished in 1996 to build a full-featured Fred Meyer in most of its place)
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by Super S »

SamSpade wrote:Anecdote here from Portland... Sears at Washington Square was really throwing itself into the 'friends and family' sale they had over the weekend. I also work remotely for a firm that runs advertising in the Salt Lake City - Ogden - Provo market.
1. There was an ad schedule on our properties to push the sale in Utah, including an appearance
2. Here, I was in the store after having kind of a frustrating time working through WSM and of course found some good bargains in Lands End again. This store must be doing "okay" because it seems to have just about enough labor to keep it tidy and maintained. The escalator well to the basement had one burned out decorative light fixture but otherwise this store looked presentable.

Interestingly, during the "Friends and Family" event on Sunday, they had all these 3rd party vendors in the store. It felt like a Mexican vendor marketplace you find in some of these malls that sometimes die out. There were several ladies trying to sign people up to sell Avon, Tupperware, etc. as well as Ochoas Lupita's (local taqueria chain) serving up food outside in the parking lot.

While I was there the manager (I assume, because it was the same voice every time) was announcing (un)advertised specials. The first one was trying to push their Craftsman tool sets that are supposedly over $300 for about $250 or so if I recall... "only 10 left." :lol:

The second special was pretty cool, he actually named both men who were working in the footwear department by (first) name and they were quite visible when you walked by the department. Apparently shoes were an extra 10% off already marked sale prices.

Finally, after I had to wait a bit to check out in Lands End, where the associates both acknowledged me waiting and put my merchandise in one of the nice blue wicker handled bags, the final sale special was in young men's with an honestly hot price on Levi's jeans ($29.99 if I recall). Again, the sales associate was mentioned by name and I think the idea was she would be there and ready to help.

Honestly, it made the store have a feeling of energy and movement and excitement in a way that most mall stores (especially department stores) usually don't. It was kind of like the "blue light special" of yore, but I don't suppose there's really anything wrong with that, right?
Washington Square is probably the best performer out of Portland's malls these days. I will agree that the Sears in that mall is more organized and just looks healthier. Especially when compared to Lloyd Center. With that said, the last time I went to the JCPenney at Washington Square it was a disorganized mess.

I have a feeling that Washington Square will end up being the lone Sears remaining in the Portland area. Lloyd Center (which now owns the Sears space) is in a holding pattern for redevelopment, while Clackamas Town Center seems to be slipping. It doesn't help that the mall is owned by GGP who has had a rocky relationship with Sears. Vancouver Mall could go either way.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by storewanderer »

Curiously, they are re-opening a store that had previously closed due to a washed out bridge. http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news-kanaw ... -reopening
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by mbz321 »

storewanderer wrote:Curiously, they are re-opening a store that had previously closed due to a washed out bridge. http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news-kanaw ... -reopening
That's pretty strange...you would think Sears/Kmart would have just taken the insurance money and ran, unless this was one of their top earning stores.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by storewanderer »

It would have seemed like the perfect opportunity to shut the store down. However, the store would still be full of inventory from before when the bridge washed out since it was a sudden closure. Since nothing went physically wrong with the store perhaps that is why they re-opened, it doesn't cost them to re-open and like you point out there is probably some insurance money for lost volume.

There was also a Kroger in this area and it tried to stay open after the bridge washed out but ultimately closed too. I think you could get to it by parking a ways a way and walking or something. They probably stayed open long enough to somehow pack the place up.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by BatteryMill »

storewanderer wrote:Curiously, they are re-opening a store that had previously closed due to a washed out bridge. http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news-kanaw ... -reopening
That is sure odd for a whole mall to have been cut off because of a bridge. What did they do, haul the goods out with manpower or leave them there for over a year? I'm certainly impressed though, I feel Sears/Kmart can do various stuff with all the time on their hands for local flair.

But I'm best hoping it's not a bust and shrinks/begins closing soon after.
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