Is the end near at Sears?

Predicting the demise of Sears & Kmart since 2017!
rwsandiego
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Re: Is the end near at Sears?

Post by rwsandiego »

Groceteria wrote: September 2nd, 2019, 3:33 pm Clemmons NC (which is on the closing list) yesterday. I hadn't been in this store in about ten years. My favorite is the "patient consultation area" in the pharmacy, which is closed on evenings weekends, of course. But hey, they're still hiring...
My favorite pic is the one about transitioning the sales floor to a new look. It is called "closed."

Considering how successful they were in the 1970's and '80s it is very sad to see this.
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Re: Is the end near at Sears?

Post by Super S »

rwsandiego wrote: September 2nd, 2019, 4:34 pm
Groceteria wrote: September 2nd, 2019, 3:33 pm Clemmons NC (which is on the closing list) yesterday. I hadn't been in this store in about ten years. My favorite is the "patient consultation area" in the pharmacy, which is closed on evenings weekends, of course. But hey, they're still hiring...
My favorite pic is the one about transitioning the sales floor to a new look. It is called "closed."

Considering how successful they were in the 1970's and '80s it is very sad to see this.
I agree with how sad looking the remaining stores are looking.
It amazes me when you see hints of how busy some of these stores were back in their heyday compared to how they are now.
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Re: Is the end near at Sears?

Post by arizonaguy »

Super S wrote: September 2nd, 2019, 6:46 pm
rwsandiego wrote: September 2nd, 2019, 4:34 pm
Groceteria wrote: September 2nd, 2019, 3:33 pm Clemmons NC (which is on the closing list) yesterday. I hadn't been in this store in about ten years. My favorite is the "patient consultation area" in the pharmacy, which is closed on evenings weekends, of course. But hey, they're still hiring...
My favorite pic is the one about transitioning the sales floor to a new look. It is called "closed."

Considering how successful they were in the 1970's and '80s it is very sad to see this.
I agree with how sad looking the remaining stores are looking.
It amazes me when you see hints of how busy some of these stores were back in their heyday compared to how they are now.
Honestly, if the company wasn't owned by Lampert it would've probably liquidated in 2010/2011.

Sears actually was a decent store until 2010 or so when the wheels started to fall off. Kmart pretty much died in the 2002 bankruptcy and has been limping along ever since.
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Re: Is the end near at Sears?

Post by pseudo3d »

arizonaguy wrote: September 2nd, 2019, 8:39 pm
Super S wrote: September 2nd, 2019, 6:46 pm
rwsandiego wrote: September 2nd, 2019, 4:34 pm
My favorite pic is the one about transitioning the sales floor to a new look. It is called "closed."

Considering how successful they were in the 1970's and '80s it is very sad to see this.
I agree with how sad looking the remaining stores are looking.
It amazes me when you see hints of how busy some of these stores were back in their heyday compared to how they are now.
Honestly, if the company wasn't owned by Lampert it would've probably liquidated in 2010/2011.

Sears actually was a decent store until 2010 or so when the wheels started to fall off. Kmart pretty much died in the 2002 bankruptcy and has been limping along ever since.
Company was pretty loaded in 2007 due to all the rainy-day savings and other assets they still owned. 2010 was about the time they stopped playing around with prototypes (Kmart-like Sears stores, Kmarts with Internet cafes, etc.) and just laid the company to waste.
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Re: Is the end near at Sears?

Post by cathandler »

In the last day or so the media started embracing the 100-store-closure narrative in reporting local impacts. Case in point:
https://bangordailynews.com/2019/09/03/ ... years-end/
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Re: Is the end near at Sears?

Post by Super S »

Things are getting interesting. The sale of Sears HQ may be pending:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/warrenshou ... 979594444b
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Re: Is the end near at Sears?

Post by cathandler »

Super S wrote: September 3rd, 2019, 8:07 pm Things are getting interesting. The sale of Sears HQ may be pending:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/warrenshou ... 979594444b
If there's any truth to this, the vendor community has to be on the verge of either demanding COD or withholding shipments altogether, which would surely trigger a repeat of Sears Holdings BK filing - most likely total liquidation.
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Re: Is the end near at Sears?

Post by storewanderer »

I went to the Kmart in Bishop, CA this week. This is a newer modern structure, one of the last new build Kmarts. No competition for a few hours in any direction. Bishop does have a Family Dollar and Grocery Outlet now which it did not have before.

The store has deteriorated significantly. Almost the entire back wall is filled with nothing but plastic totes. This area would house electronics, office supplies, hardware, etc. The entire electronics department is just aisles with plastic totes and fans; no electronics. Other aisles throughout the store were very lightly stocked, some empty. Home decor, candles, drug, pet beds, pet food, certain grocery items. They had no Coke, Pepsi, or 7-Up products only "Super Chill" soda. They did have beer and Lay's chips though.
The store itself is dirty, it does not appear the floors are being cleaned anymore. Multiple aisles had dried stains or spills. There is a big wear pattern (white tiles turned scratchy gray) running in the main walkway between drug aisles and checkouts since it is not being cleaned enough or properly. I observed an employee packing items into boxes addressed to a different store, not sure what that is all about.

Numerous items in the grocery area, pet area, and household area are 50% off. Very basic items, name brand and private label items. Tide, Bounty, Friskies, etc. Thought their everyday prices are higher, at 50% off these are great deals. These are definitely being sold well below cost. I am not sure what they are doing here, but it appears they are in desperate need of immediate cash flow. I collected about $8 worth of these items and went to pay. One checkout open, six in line, very miserably cashier. Upon paying I was issued 3 coupons "VALID TODAY ONLY" one was $1 off $10 grocery, one was 5% off home, one was $5 off any $15 purchase. I returned to the store immediately after walking out to collect $15 more of additional 50% off products to redeem the $5 off $15 coupon. While I was collecting my items a second register opened so by the time I went to pay again, the line was more reasonable. I was issued 3 more "VALID TODAY ONLY" coupons with that purchase for clothing, shoes, and home that I had no interest in. The store had almost no bags left either and the bags were just sloppily strewn around the other side of the counter (not even on the hooks for the cashier to easily bag as scanning items). Almost every customer was asking for bags. The store also still has the old thermal red lined white paper Catalina Coupon printers and they are actually functioning; I thought those went out of service long ago.
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Re: Is the end near at Sears?

Post by Super S »

After the current wave of closures ends, Kmart and Sears combined will have fewer stores than Shopko did when they announced they were shutting the chain down. It seems like Lampert is continuing a slow and painful death. While I think the end needs to come soon, somehow I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up dragging on a few more years. The only way this company has a chance of long-term survival is for Lampert to sell to somebody else and have no involvement.
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Re: Is the end near at Sears?

Post by storewanderer »

Super S wrote: September 21st, 2019, 10:04 am After the current wave of closures ends, Kmart and Sears combined will have fewer stores than Shopko did when they announced they were shutting the chain down. It seems like Lampert is continuing a slow and painful death. While I think the end needs to come soon, somehow I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up dragging on a few more years. The only way this company has a chance of long-term survival is for Lampert to sell to somebody else and have no involvement.


I noticed the items that are 50% off in store are even cheaper at Kmart.com if you do their "in store pick up" option. Basically 50% off plus another 30% off after that seems to be the price. Some really, really good deals on pet items and laundry detergent, etc. The items are marked as "hot buy" and seem to require in-store pick up.

Tough to see how this can go on much longer. The store count is too low to support much in the way of private label merchandise. Ongoing poor merchandising (it has not even remotely recovered to what it was pre-bankruptcy in Kmart, so many holes and missing items/categories) and lack of brands makes it look as if there is not much of a plan to keep this thing going. They seem to have largely "cleared" the middle of the US of Kmart Stores in the current/upcoming round of store closures so I assume this leaves Kmart as a strictly east coast/California/Puerto Rico chain.

At this point I am not sure their operation is going to perform even well enough to linger on a few more years.
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