Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Predicting the demise of Sears & Kmart since 2017!
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Super S
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Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by Super S »

At this point, it is pretty much a given that there will be more closures. It is shaping up to be a rough year for Sears and Kmart.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by wnetmacman »

It may not be the end yet, and I hope I'm right. However, with Fairholm pulling away last year, Fast Eddie's funding may be running short. When it does, it will be the meltdown for the ages. With Sears Canada winding down, the US operations cannot be far behind.

Maybe Amazon is cooking something up we don't know about....
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by pseudo3d »

wnetmacman wrote: January 1st, 2018, 9:57 am It may not be the end yet, and I hope I'm right. However, with Fairholm pulling away last year, Fast Eddie's funding may be running short. When it does, it will be the meltdown for the ages. With Sears Canada winding down, the US operations cannot be far behind.

Maybe Amazon is cooking something up we don't know about....
Well, Sears Outlets/Hometown are separate stores and may be spared (to an extent) the destruction. Due to non-compete clauses there's a lot of stuff that Hometown can and can't do, and maybe that can be loosened as more stores close (maybe larger stores could open). A lot of the drag on SHLD is legacy pension payments, too, which is Outlet/Hometown is free of.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by storewanderer »

Sears Outlet/Hometown is a completely separate entity from Sears Holdings Corporation (Sears/Kmart retail stores). I think Sears Auto Centers are also a separate entity now.

I think there will be some future for the name "Sears" in some form. Maybe as little store selling appliances. Maybe as a website. Maybe as an appliance repair company. But not as an operator of full line department stores in malls.

"Kmart" - probably no future.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by wnetmacman »

storewanderer wrote: January 2nd, 2018, 7:51 pm Sears Outlet/Hometown is a completely separate entity from Sears Holdings Corporation (Sears/Kmart retail stores). I think Sears Auto Centers are also a separate entity now.
Very important wording in the spinoff announcement:

"Sears Chairman Edward Lampert's ESL Investments Inc. will own a majority stake in the business being spun off."

Fast Eddie still controls it. If SHC goes, this will too.
storewanderer wrote: January 2nd, 2018, 7:51 pmI think there will be some future for the name "Sears" in some form. Maybe as little store selling appliances. Maybe as a website. Maybe as an appliance repair company. But not as an operator of full line department stores in malls.

"Kmart" - probably no future.
One of the names may survive. I believe you're correct in saying Kmart isn't the one. Sears may. It depends on how ESL handles the impending planned failure.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by pseudo3d »

wnetmacman wrote: January 2nd, 2018, 8:08 pm
storewanderer wrote: January 2nd, 2018, 7:51 pm Sears Outlet/Hometown is a completely separate entity from Sears Holdings Corporation (Sears/Kmart retail stores). I think Sears Auto Centers are also a separate entity now.
Very important wording in the spinoff announcement:

"Sears Chairman Edward Lampert's ESL Investments Inc. will own a majority stake in the business being spun off."

Fast Eddie still controls it. If SHC goes, this will too.
storewanderer wrote: January 2nd, 2018, 7:51 pmI think there will be some future for the name "Sears" in some form. Maybe as little store selling appliances. Maybe as a website. Maybe as an appliance repair company. But not as an operator of full line department stores in malls.

"Kmart" - probably no future.
One of the names may survive. I believe you're correct in saying Kmart isn't the one. Sears may. It depends on how ESL handles the impending planned failure.
I could see a future where Kmart survives (probably sold off to a dollar store chain) and Sears isn't. One of the things I'm most surprised of (and this may change in bankruptcy, probably because bankruptcy will cause this to be discovered) is that Lampert and his pals aren't doing something illegal. They already have used the companies as their own bank (million-dollar houses and the like).
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by Knight »

I know several Kmart stores that opened in 1974 will be pushing forty-five years in 2019. Some of these stores, if leased, could be up for closure this year should leases not be renewed.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by Super S »

Knight wrote: January 3rd, 2018, 3:58 pm I know several Kmart stores that opened in 1974 will be pushing forty-five years in 2019. Some of these stores, if leased, could be up for closure this year should leases not be renewed.
EVERY store nearing the end of a lease is a candidate for closure...this excuse has been used many times already. And there are some still open 50+ year old Kmarts out there that somehow keep escaping the closing lists.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by Super S »

And the closing announcements have started....

http://searsholdings.com/docs/010418-st ... g-list.pdf

A few I am familiar with:

Lloyd Center in Portland: This has been expected.

Federal Way, WA: This store was very tired looking. The mall seems to be rebounding though as they have recently added a new Kohl's as well as Dick's Sporting Goods. This space could be redeveloped fairly soon.

Chehalis, WA (Double Whammy) The Sears doesn't surprise me as it is pretty much the ONLY anchor in the Lewis County Mall, which isn't really much of a mall. The Kmart I am surprised by though, as they remodeled and reopened after the store was flooded about 10 years ago, and it's the only store near me to have the current signage. I was surprised by the fact they remodeled with a big Walmart nearby, but this was right next to I-5 and had excellent visibility, and was one of the nicer Kmarts left around here.
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Re: Sears/Kmart Death Watch 2018

Post by SamSpade »

Twin Falls, ID is an interesting situation - people must be switching to eCommerce and traveling to the Boise area (now less than 2 hours by car with I-84 at 80 miles per hour) as both Sears and Macy's are closing at Magic Valley Mall. If I were in charge at JCPenney, i would be looking at adding a Sephora ASAP to my anchor there / possibly moving into one of the larger anchors.
(edit: Oh, JCP already opened an in-store Sephora here)
Twin Falls still has several chains that fill the mid-level discount department store need, though [Walmart, Target, Costco, Fred Meyer, ShopKo, & weirdly a KMart].

Shoreline, WA: LARGE stand-alone store up a hill off Aurora Ave. Aurora isn't quite the retail core it used to be and this store was strangely situated along with being dated when I lived there in 2007-2009.

Ogden, UT: Ogden and Riverdale seem to suffer from some retail bleed. Newgate Mall isn't on I-15 and somewhat hard to access. If travelers from Idaho don't want to go as far as Salt Lake City, they seem to patronize Layton Hills Mall and that area.
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