Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Predicting the demise of Sears & Kmart since 2017!
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by SamSpade »

New York Post headline is too great not to share:
Eddie's Jewel 'Heist' : Kenmore in sights
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by marshd1000 »

The full line Sears at Overlake Fashion Plaza in Redmond is going to close. With that closure, the only Sears full line store in King County will be at Westfield Southcenter in Tukwila.

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/r ... l-closure/

As for the Westfield Southcenter location, using part of that as a Whole Foods might be doable as there are none in South King County. Or how about the remainder becoming housing and/or a hotel?

I used to work for Sears. It was a great company and it’s sad to see it go. But they should just get it over with and pull the plug on the remainder of the stores!
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by Super S »

marshd1000 wrote: April 27th, 2018, 7:26 pm The full line Sears at Overlake Fashion Plaza in Redmond is going to close. With that closure, the only Sears full line store in King County will be at Westfield Southcenter in Tukwila.

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/r ... l-closure/

As for the Westfield Southcenter location, using part of that as a Whole Foods might be doable as there are none in South King County. Or how about the remainder becoming housing and/or a hotel?

I used to work for Sears. It was a great company and it’s sad to see it go. But they should just get it over with and pull the plug on the remainder of the stores!
Something just seems "off" lately at that Southcenter store. Particularly the newer upstairs entrance which goes through a mattress department (and you can tell wasn't designed with that entrance) and reeks badly of a moldy smell in the A/C system. The whole store has a somewhat odd layout.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by storewanderer »

Super S wrote: April 27th, 2018, 10:22 pm
marshd1000 wrote: April 27th, 2018, 7:26 pm The full line Sears at Overlake Fashion Plaza in Redmond is going to close. With that closure, the only Sears full line store in King County will be at Westfield Southcenter in Tukwila.

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/r ... l-closure/

As for the Westfield Southcenter location, using part of that as a Whole Foods might be doable as there are none in South King County. Or how about the remainder becoming housing and/or a hotel?

I used to work for Sears. It was a great company and it’s sad to see it go. But they should just get it over with and pull the plug on the remainder of the stores!
Something just seems "off" lately at that Southcenter store. Particularly the newer upstairs entrance which goes through a mattress department (and you can tell wasn't designed with that entrance) and reeks badly of a moldy smell in the A/C system. The whole store has a somewhat odd layout.
I have to think Southcenter is a really strong mall with a lot of potential uses for the Sears space. Do we know if they own or lease the building? I notice it is not a Seritage property...
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by SamSpade »

storewanderer wrote: April 27th, 2018, 11:47 pm I have to think Southcenter is a really strong mall with a lot of potential uses for the Sears space. Do we know if they own or lease the building? I notice it is not a Seritage property...
This is one of the properties that Seritage has recently offered up for sale, based on an article about the Lacey location from The Olympian & Tacoma News Tribune
Another chunk of stores is being marketed separately for sale. Those include stores in Lacey, at Westfield Southcenter in Tukwila, Union Gap in Yakima County and two in the Spokane area, along with a Kmart in Spokane.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by marshd1000 »

Something just seems "off" lately at that Southcenter store. Particularly the newer upstairs entrance which goes through a mattress department (and you can tell wasn't designed with that entrance) and reeks badly of a moldy smell in the A/C system. The whole store has a somewhat odd layout.
That store was not originally a Sears. It was Frederick & Nelson. When that space became available, Sears moved from Renton Center Mall to Southcenter. Renton Center was redeveloped into a strip mall with Fred Meyer as the anchor.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by Super S »

marshd1000 wrote: April 28th, 2018, 9:14 am
Something just seems "off" lately at that Southcenter store. Particularly the newer upstairs entrance which goes through a mattress department (and you can tell wasn't designed with that entrance) and reeks badly of a moldy smell in the A/C system. The whole store has a somewhat odd layout.
That store was not originally a Sears. It was Frederick & Nelson. When that space became available, Sears moved from Renton Center Mall to Southcenter. Renton Center was redeveloped into a strip mall with Fred Meyer as the anchor.
I knew it wasn't always a Sears. That explains part of the odd layout. The upstairs entrance I am talking about though did not exist until a new wing was added to the mall, long after Sears moved in.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by storewanderer »

Reno Sears is now under liquidation and this is actually the first time I've been to a Sears Store Closing Sale.

I noticed all of the percent off signs on the racks say "percent off ORIGINAL PRICE" yet the signs that are hanging from the ceiling all say "percent off LOWEST MARKED PRICE."

I scanned a few random items on a price scanner and found some came up full tagged price with no discount at all, others came off at the advertised 30% off for the category I was visiting.

Also the appliance category does not seem to explicitly be under liquidation sale pricing (no signs at all over in those areas from the liquidation) but maybe the posted sale prices were some flat percentage off. I didn't take the time to figure that out.

The store was very busy and people lined up at the few open registers. As is typical, last week before the liquidation sale, the regular Sears specials were much lower prices than what the liquidation sale offers this week.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by Super S »

storewanderer wrote: April 29th, 2018, 6:54 pm Reno Sears is now under liquidation and this is actually the first time I've been to a Sears Store Closing Sale.

I noticed all of the percent off signs on the racks say "percent off ORIGINAL PRICE" yet the signs that are hanging from the ceiling all say "percent off LOWEST MARKED PRICE."

I scanned a few random items on a price scanner and found some came up full tagged price with no discount at all, others came off at the advertised 30% off for the category I was visiting.

Also the appliance category does not seem to explicitly be under liquidation sale pricing (no signs at all over in those areas from the liquidation) but maybe the posted sale prices were some flat percentage off. I didn't take the time to figure that out.

The store was very busy and people lined up at the few open registers. As is typical, last week before the liquidation sale, the regular Sears specials were much lower prices than what the liquidation sale offers this week.
I have found closing sales to be hit or miss. Some items, like a specific type of riding mower blades I use, are true markdowns. Other items, such as riding mower batteries, are still high even after markdowns...almost $60 when many parts stores sell them $20 cheaper.

There are some good deals to be had IF you have an idea of what normal regular prices are on items and can spot where they have been marked up for the sales.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by architect »

Another potential Sears closure to add to the list:

Nothing has been announced on Sears' end, but Simon has submitted documents to the City of Tyler, Texas planning and zoning commission for an expansion and renovation to Broadway Square Mall. If the project is approved, it will involve the demolition of the existing Sears store on the south side of the property. If approved, the project will likely proceed quickly as Simon is competing with a large mixed-use development in the southern part of Tyler (Village at Cumberland Park) to attract retailers. The other anchors at Broadway Square both perform well (Dillard's and JCPenny), but the mall has lost some in-line stores to this other development and has significant turf to defend.

https://tylerpaper.com/news/local/broad ... 8e461.html
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