Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

[reymann]

i suspect kmart might be gone once sears is forced to file bankruptcy. the remaining stores will liquidate by then.

[mbz321]

i suspect kmart might be gone once sears is forced to file bankruptcy. the remaining stores will liquidate by then.

I would like to think Kmart still has a chance somewhere. More closures are a given, but they do still have handfuls of locations that are (somehow) extremely profitable. Notice how all the 'far off' and/or oddball locations like Hawaii and Guam and NYC have been spared by closures for now. Although the future doesn't look great, I'm kind of hoping a 'white knight' will come in and buy up what is left (or maybe they will all just end up as new Walmart locations).

[storewanderer]

I too wonder if it will eventually whittle down to a select small group of locations that Wal Mart will purchase and convert over. Kmart has square footage in some places that Wal Mart just can't enter for one reason or another, and taking over an existing big box is their only way in.

The chain cannot continue in its current state. Dire conditions in the stores. Thousands of out of stocks and it appears a lot of categories are not even being managed anymore.

[babs]

i suspect kmart might be gone once sears is forced to file bankruptcy. the remaining stores will liquidate by then.

I would like to think Kmart still has a chance somewhere. More closures are a given, but they do still have handfuls of locations that are (somehow) extremely profitable. Notice how all the 'far off' and/or oddball locations like Hawaii and Guam and NYC have been spared by closures for now. Although the future doesn't look great, I'm kind of hoping a 'white knight' will come in and buy up what is left (or maybe they will all just end up as new Walmart locations).

Why would anyone buy what's left of Kmart. If you approach them with an offer to buy out the lease and take over the building, it's yours. There's nothing left to buy. Most of the buildings are old and would need at best a complete gut. The brand name is worthless. Walmart has pretty much stopped opening new large format stores in most area to focus on eCommerce. Kmart is being wound down. Never seen anything like it but I suppose someone has figured out how to make money while winding things down this way.

The busiest Kmart I've seen over the past few years was in Maui, and even that one has closed recently. So I really doubt sales are a major consideration as to what stores are kept and which ones are being shut down.

[wnetmacman]

Why would anyone buy what's left of Kmart. If you approach them with an offer to buy out the lease and take over the building, it's yours. There's nothing left to buy. Most of the buildings are old and would need at best a complete gut. The brand name is worthless. Walmart has pretty much stopped opening new large format stores in most area to focus on eCommerce. Kmart is being wound down. Never seen anything like it but I suppose someone has figured out how to make money while winding things down this way.

The busiest Kmart I've seen over the past few years was in Maui, and even that one has closed recently. So I really doubt sales are a major consideration as to what stores are kept and which ones are being shut down.

It's an easy answer: filling in where you need a store, but can't get land or permits to build one. Even if you have to gut an existing Kmart, it's still better than trying to go somewhere where they haven't wanted you to build that big box. I could see Walmart buying some of the more obscure locations where they don't exist for expansion.

Busy Kmarts are being shuttered too. It's without rhyme or reason.

[storewanderer]

Based on the odd situation involving physical stores lately, I too wonder if Wal Mart will make a play for some of these locations Kmart is closing or not. The situation is different now than, say, five years ago. I have to think some of the locations would be attractive...

[babs]

Here are two examples of why I don't think Walmart is interested.

Oregon City, OR
Vacant Kmart - about 90,000 sq ft with a vacant Albertsons next door, about 50,000 sq ft. Oregon City is a dream market for Walmart. No store nearby and demographics that are perfect for them. They even tried for years to locate a store nearby but couldn't due to community opposition. Here is an opportunity to combine two vacant buildings that share a common wall without having to get a zone change. Walmart hasn't made any movement to jump on this opportunity.

Beaverton, OR
Still Open Kmart - about 125,000 sq ft. Perfect for Walmart with no nearby stores on a property already zoned for big box use.
https://cra-nw.com/property/sw-murray-tv-hwy/

This is a market that is underrepresented by Walmart and always runs into opposition when trying to site one of their stores. It doesn't come any easier for them than this. Yet they seem to have no interest.

[Super S]

Here are two examples of why I don't think Walmart is interested.

Oregon City, OR
Vacant Kmart - about 90,000 sq ft with a vacant Albertsons next door, about 50,000 sq ft. Oregon City is a dream market for Walmart. No store nearby and demographics that are perfect for them. They even tried for years to locate a store nearby but couldn't due to community opposition. Here is an opportunity to combine two vacant buildings that share a common wall without having to get a zone change. Walmart hasn't made any movement to jump on this opportunity.

Beaverton, OR
Still Open Kmart - about 125,000 sq ft. Perfect for Walmart with no nearby stores on a property already zoned for big box use.
https://cra-nw.com/property/sw-murray-tv-hwy/

This is a market that is underrepresented by Walmart and always runs into opposition when trying to site one of their stores. It doesn't come any easier for them than this. Yet they seem to have no interest.

Only thing there is that Walmart tends to build the Supercenters as standalone stores. Both Oregon City and Beaverton are in strip malls. I know that conventional stores have in the past been in strip malls, but Walmart really doesn't build those any more. Walmart does, however, locate the Neighborhood Market stores in strip malls, there is one in Vancouver, WA which is in a former WinCo Foods (which interestingly also has a Target in the same strip mall)

With that said, I have seen relatively recent pictures of an older Kmart that was converted into a Walmart. It received relatively minimal remodeling. You can clearly tell it was a former Kmart.

[babs]

The Beaverton location is not a strip mall. The only other tenant is an old restaurant that they could easily get removed.

The Oregon City location has a small strip mall off to the side, which is no different than the small strip malls next to many Walmarts that often have sandwich shops and Great Clips.

[marshd1000]

While Walmart mostly builds supercenters these days, there are some exceptions. Especially where there is not enough land to build a supercenter. Bellevue, WA for example has two relatively new Walmarts. One is a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Kelsey Creek Center. Part of an old Kmart became LA Fitness and the other part became a Neighborhood Market. But they also built a small conventional Walmart in a old Mervyn's building at the Marketplace at Factoria. So because of this, I am wondering if Walmart would try to take over the closing Sears building at Aurora Square in Shoreline? That would be the closest Walmart to the City of Seattle, where their only presence is a Sam's Club!