Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

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

Post by wnetmacman »

SamSpade wrote: November 3rd, 2017, 9:49 am
wnetmacman wrote: November 3rd, 2017, 8:05 amAlso, many of the Kmarts beyond the ones I named (though not nearly all) are 90's stores; could be a lease ending situation.
I was able to find (weird!) an online database courtesy of the City of Ammon, Idaho that mentions KMart's grand opening in city council minutes from (wait for it...) 1991!
So yes, lease ending there is a strong possibility.

I can't believe that KMart was so "progressive" in 1991. There was hardly any retail out there, unlike today. Unfortunately, stronger operators eventually followed.
In 1991, Kmart was expanding and rebuilding rapidly. Joe Antonini was set on reimaging Kmart, and I believe that the purchases of Borders, Builders Square, Office Max and others were done with the intent of using those finances to pay for Kmart's revitalization.

Of course, we know the story that all of Kmart's purchases failed under Kmart leadership or shortly after, and that hurt Mr. Antonini's time with the company. Sam Walton was concerned that if their trajectory had continued, he would be concerned for the future of Walmart. That didn't end up being a concern, as Kmart's board stopped that. Instead, Walmart became the world's largest retailer by any measure, and Kmart ended up as a chapter in the book of Bankruptcy, then sold out to Fast Eddie Lampert, who has done his damage.

Sadly, when he merged this disaster with Sears in 2005, it doomed both companies.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by Super S »

wnetmacman wrote: November 3rd, 2017, 11:57 am
SamSpade wrote: November 3rd, 2017, 9:49 am
wnetmacman wrote: November 3rd, 2017, 8:05 amAlso, many of the Kmarts beyond the ones I named (though not nearly all) are 90's stores; could be a lease ending situation.
I was able to find (weird!) an online database courtesy of the City of Ammon, Idaho that mentions KMart's grand opening in city council minutes from (wait for it...) 1991!
So yes, lease ending there is a strong possibility.

I can't believe that KMart was so "progressive" in 1991. There was hardly any retail out there, unlike today. Unfortunately, stronger operators eventually followed.
In 1991, Kmart was expanding and rebuilding rapidly. Joe Antonini was set on reimaging Kmart, and I believe that the purchases of Borders, Builders Square, Office Max and others were done with the intent of using those finances to pay for Kmart's revitalization.

Of course, we know the story that all of Kmart's purchases failed under Kmart leadership or shortly after, and that hurt Mr. Antonini's time with the company. Sam Walton was concerned that if their trajectory had continued, he would be concerned for the future of Walmart. That didn't end up being a concern, as Kmart's board stopped that. Instead, Walmart became the world's largest retailer by any measure, and Kmart ended up as a chapter in the book of Bankruptcy, then sold out to Fast Eddie Lampert, who has done his damage.

Sadly, when he merged this disaster with Sears in 2005, it doomed both companies.
Antonini was the only one who really made any effort to update and improve Kmart's image. The stores, both new and old, looked good. Lampert has done the exact opposite.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by marshd1000 »

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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by storewanderer »

The Reno Sears was open tonight but all of its exterior lights/signs were off. The store looked pretty busy but Macys and even JCP were both a lot busier.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by storewanderer »

Went into a still open Kmart yesterday. Their promotion for Black Friday and the weekend is a continuation of the 10-40% off "everything" Total Inventory Blowout.

They had many pallets of cheap pillows in one of the center aisles and the label on the boxes all said "Kmart Black Friday" but the pillows were a regular price 3.99 and the 20% off for the "blowout." Also had a large display of a bunch of little Proctor Silex small kitchen electrics again a regular price of 9.99 then the 20% off for the "blowout." Both items should have probably been 1.99-2.99 to generate any excitement or traffic.

Also curious how they can put "10-40% off EVERYTHING" on their signs when all of the grocery, pet, paper, and cleaning supplies are excluded from the sale.

Kmart had no ad for Black Friday at this store, or any ad I could retrieve online for that store, but someone had taken and posted a bunch of black and white photocopies of what looked like an ad showing page after page of what was 10-40% off and taped them to the wall on the side of the entry vestibule.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by architect »

Over this weekend, I visited the Sears in Tyler, TX during the middle of the day. Since my last visit approximately a year ago, the store had noticeably fallen. The store had almost no traffic, despite the adjacent mall being quite busy. A Holiday sale was being very prominently advertised with "everything 10-50% off"; it honestly seemed like a precursor to a store closing sale (similar to what other posters have noted at Kmart). Several checkout stands had been removed around the store with only a few remaining near the exterior entrances; the mall entrance had no employee coverage nearby whatsoever. The apparel departments were stocked noticeably thin, while the electronics department which formerly occupied a large corner of the store had been reduced to two aisles, complete with 4 TV offerings, a few cables, and several boomboxes. As expected, appliances were the one department which was still well-stacked.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by Knight »

I have noticed several Kmart Pharmacy locations inside Kmart store locations are reducing hours of operation or have closed in preparation for inevitable store closings. Reduction in hours of operation include being open from 1000 hours to 1800 hours Monday through Friday, being open 1000 hours to 1400 hours on Saturday, and being closed on Sunday. I doubt Kmart Pharmacy locations are getting the business they need to survive considering the decreases of customer traffic and business at Kmart store locations.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by storewanderer »

Went to a still open Kmart today. The store was stocked very thinly with a ton of out of stocks in basic key categories (pet, food, candy, bed/bath, hardlines, drug). Clothing area was very fully stocked.

When paying there were two people in front of me. One of them was given a "$13 free cash card" with a $43 transaction. The next one was given a $6 "free cash card" with a $5 transaction. So I decided to put in a loyalty card which I do not usually do there. I had a $3 transaction and the system granted me a $13 "free cash card good 1/1/2018-1/14/2018 on any purchase of $13 or more excludes clearance and TVs."

The system also gave me:

"$5 free cash on seasonal candy good 12/24/2017-12/30/2017"
"$10 free cash in points on your next storewide purchase of $20 or more excludes grocery, beauty, health, pet, and cleaning supplies good 12/24/2017-01/07/2017"

I went back into the store and found $5 of Christmas Candy in a green package with a drawing of a Christmas Tree on it and assumed this would be free. So I took it and went to redeem the "free cash." The system declined the "free cash." The clerk seemed to be pretty sharp and read the coupon, looked at the item, and paged management 3 times before finally getting a response. Maybe this wasn't the first time the clerk had a problem with this coupon today. The clerk read the manager the coupon (the amount, valid dates, etc.) over the phone numerous times and they spent 2-3 minutes trying to figure out what to do. Finally the manager told the clerk to just void the transaction, give me the candy, and write a note on the coupon and put the coupon in her drawer.

I wonder what will happen if I try to go and redeem the $13 of "free cash" on 01/01.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by Knight »

As Christmas has passed, I wonder if that Kmart store and others will replenish, or if additional inventory including clothing will be marked on clearance. I do not know if it is early to tell if Sears Holdings produced sales leading up to Christmas.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2017

Post by Alpha8472 »

Clothing is something that Kmart has trouble selling. The quality and selection is mediocre. They are just trying to get rid of the excessive stock.

The cash coupons seem like a last ditch effort to make people spend more. If it were not for the coupons, there would be little reason to buy anything.

Wait until January and you may see the closures begin.
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