Beaverton, Oregon: Very odd Kmart observation

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Beaverton, Oregon: Very odd Kmart observation

Post by Super S »

Back in March, I drove by the Beaverton Kmart and noticed that all the exterior signage had been removed from the building, with visible labelscars from when it used to be a darker brown color, and a plastic "Big Kmart" banner draped across the front. Here it is two months later and nothing at all, not even the paint, has changed. At first I speculated that the location could be getting an updated sign or paint job, but since then, there was another wave of store closures announced, so now I am wondering if they are just riding out a lease as cheaply as they can or something. The whole strip mall this Kmart is in looks to be in a state of neglect and is becoming a bit run down looking. Two months is an awful long time to not have signs on the building though. I have to wonder how many people are seeing this and thinking the location has closed. As far as I know this one is not on any closing list...at least not yet.

I get that Kmart is not doing particularly well, but all things considered, this just seems to be a bit odd.
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Re: Beaverton, Oregon: Very odd Kmart observation

Post by Super S »

Drove by again today. Nothing on the outside has changed. Four months with a temporary sign now. I briefly went inside and noticed they had every other row of lights turned off probably as a cost saving measure. I have the feeling the end is near.
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Re: Beaverton, Oregon: Very odd Kmart observation

Post by storewanderer »

I was in the Kmart in Jackson, CA last week which looks like a late 1980's build. Store closes at 8 PM nightly and customer count late Friday afternoon was in the single digits. The store inside is generally clean enough and seems to be in okay condition. Some fairly messy displays around the store, it is clear they don't really care about the place. Also the clothing area seemed very lightly stocked.

They also had every other row of lights shut off in this store and the feeling of the store was a feeling of sadness and depression even more extreme than the usual Kmart.

So it appears the lighting shut offs are a corporate directive, but not in all stores...

Curious about the lighting situation I went to the Sparks, NV Kmart when I returned home on Sunday. This Kmart is in the same "district" as the store in Jackson mentioned above. The store is from the early 1960's but was 100% lit up inside. This store also had noticeably more merchandise than the store in Jackson had. Still rather messy and few customers as would be expected.
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Re: Beaverton, Oregon: Very odd Kmart observation

Post by Super S »

storewanderer wrote:I was in the Kmart in Jackson, CA last week which looks like a late 1980's build. Store closes at 8 PM nightly and customer count late Friday afternoon was in the single digits. The store inside is generally clean enough and seems to be in okay condition. Some fairly messy displays around the store, it is clear they don't really care about the place. Also the clothing area seemed very lightly stocked.

They also had every other row of lights shut off in this store and the feeling of the store was a feeling of sadness and depression even more extreme than the usual Kmart.

So it appears the lighting shut offs are a corporate directive, but not in all stores...

Curious about the lighting situation I went to the Sparks, NV Kmart when I returned home on Sunday. This Kmart is in the same "district" as the store in Jackson mentioned above. The store is from the early 1960's but was 100% lit up inside. This store also had noticeably more merchandise than the store in Jackson had. Still rather messy and few customers as would be expected.
The lighting issue just screams of desperation to me. It also has a tendency to make the store appear dirtier than it really is. (Something that an old Kmart does not need) I have commented about this very issue when it was implemented at Albertsons several years back. I remember other chains such as Montgomery Ward doing this over the years, the cost savings tends to be so minimal that lights eventually are restored.

But I still can't understand the reason for taking the signs down unless either new signs were going up or the store was planning to close.
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Re: Beaverton, Oregon: Very odd Kmart observation

Post by Super S »

Super S wrote:
storewanderer wrote:I was in the Kmart in Jackson, CA last week which looks like a late 1980's build. Store closes at 8 PM nightly and customer count late Friday afternoon was in the single digits. The store inside is generally clean enough and seems to be in okay condition. Some fairly messy displays around the store, it is clear they don't really care about the place. Also the clothing area seemed very lightly stocked.

They also had every other row of lights shut off in this store and the feeling of the store was a feeling of sadness and depression even more extreme than the usual Kmart.

So it appears the lighting shut offs are a corporate directive, but not in all stores...

Curious about the lighting situation I went to the Sparks, NV Kmart when I returned home on Sunday. This Kmart is in the same "district" as the store in Jackson mentioned above. The store is from the early 1960's but was 100% lit up inside. This store also had noticeably more merchandise than the store in Jackson had. Still rather messy and few customers as would be expected.
The lighting issue just screams of desperation to me. It also has a tendency to make the store appear dirtier than it really is. (Something that an old Kmart does not need) I have commented about this very issue when it was implemented at Albertsons several years back. I remember other chains such as Montgomery Ward doing this over the years, the cost savings tends to be so minimal that lights eventually are restored.

But I still can't understand the reason for taking the signs down unless either new signs were going up, the store was being repainted (which usually is done with signs in place unless they are changing the sign as part of a remodel) or the store was planning to close.
****I edited the previous post, and for some reason it created a new, separate post and would not let me delete the first one, not sure why****
Last edited by Super S on July 16th, 2016, 8:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Beaverton, Oregon: Very odd Kmart observation

Post by BillyGr »

Super S wrote:
Super S wrote:
storewanderer wrote:I was in the Kmart in Jackson, CA last week which looks like a late 1980's build. Store closes at 8 PM nightly and customer count late Friday afternoon was in the single digits. The store inside is generally clean enough and seems to be in okay condition. Some fairly messy displays around the store, it is clear they don't really care about the place. Also the clothing area seemed very lightly stocked.

They also had every other row of lights shut off in this store and the feeling of the store was a feeling of sadness and depression even more extreme than the usual Kmart.

So it appears the lighting shut offs are a corporate directive, but not in all stores...

Curious about the lighting situation I went to the Sparks, NV Kmart when I returned home on Sunday. This Kmart is in the same "district" as the store in Jackson mentioned above. The store is from the early 1960's but was 100% lit up inside. This store also had noticeably more merchandise than the store in Jackson had. Still rather messy and few customers as would be expected.
The lighting issue just screams of desperation to me. It also has a tendency to make the store appear dirtier than it really is. (Something that an old Kmart does not need) I have commented about this very issue when it was implemented at Albertsons several years back. I remember other chains such as Montgomery Ward doing this over the years, the cost savings tends to be so minimal that lights eventually are restored.

But I still can't understand the reason for taking the signs down unless either new signs were going up, the store was being repainted (which usually is done with signs in place unless they are changing the sign as part of a remodel) or the store was planning to close.
Perhaps something happened to the sign (broken would be a guess) and they just don't want to spend money on a new one (given the seeming cost savings elsewhere in that store and others)?
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Re: Beaverton, Oregon: Very odd Kmart observation

Post by Super S »

BillyGr wrote:
Super S wrote:
Super S wrote:
The lighting issue just screams of desperation to me. It also has a tendency to make the store appear dirtier than it really is. (Something that an old Kmart does not need) I have commented about this very issue when it was implemented at Albertsons several years back. I remember other chains such as Montgomery Ward doing this over the years, the cost savings tends to be so minimal that lights eventually are restored.

But I still can't understand the reason for taking the signs down unless either new signs were going up, the store was being repainted (which usually is done with signs in place unless they are changing the sign as part of a remodel) or the store was planning to close.
Perhaps something happened to the sign (broken would be a guess) and they just don't want to spend money on a new one (given the seeming cost savings elsewhere in that store and others)?
Could be, but when a sign has several independent sections, it seems to make more sense to repair that portion of the sign, than it does to take an entire multi-section sign down, PLUS the three additional Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard signs.
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Re: Beaverton, Oregon: Very odd Kmart observation

Post by BillyGr »

Super S wrote:
BillyGr wrote:
Super S wrote:
Perhaps something happened to the sign (broken would be a guess) and they just don't want to spend money on a new one (given the seeming cost savings elsewhere in that store and others)?
Could be, but when a sign has several independent sections, it seems to make more sense to repair that portion of the sign, than it does to take an entire multi-section sign down, PLUS the three additional Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard signs.
Hadn't even noticed those other spots off to the left. Unless it was an issue in the electrical feed where the whole circuit was bad and would have required a lot of work to get into/rewire the whole front.
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Re: Beaverton, Oregon: Very odd Kmart observation

Post by SamSpade »

Super S wrote:Drove by again today. Nothing on the outside has changed. Four months with a temporary sign now. I briefly went inside and noticed they had every other row of lights turned off probably as a cost saving measure. I have the feeling the end is near.
This store is currently being refaced and repainted (during the holidays?). The store was actually really busy when I was in there before Thanksgiving but I had to leave without a purchase as I was looking for a sewing/crafting item, something that (apparently) only Walmart and Fred Meyer stock in their G.M. stores.
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Re: Beaverton, Oregon: Very odd Kmart observation

Post by Super S »

SamSpade wrote:
Super S wrote:Drove by again today. Nothing on the outside has changed. Four months with a temporary sign now. I briefly went inside and noticed they had every other row of lights turned off probably as a cost saving measure. I have the feeling the end is near.
This store is currently being refaced and repainted (during the holidays?). The store was actually really busy when I was in there before Thanksgiving but I had to leave without a purchase as I was looking for a sewing/crafting item, something that (apparently) only Walmart and Fred Meyer stock in their G.M. stores.
Interesting it took so long to do something. Odd time of year to do it though.
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