Sears Fears: The Final Days of Sears & Kmart, 2019

Predicting the demise of Sears & Kmart since 2017!
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Re: Sears Fears: The Final Days of Sears & Kmart, 2019

Post by cjd »

The Sears here still looks really good and stocked. I guess the fact they don't get many customers may play into that though. I'm surprised it's still here given how many are gone now. I wouldn't go to any Kmart at this point from how it sounds. I'm kinda glad the one here closed before things got quite this bad.
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Re: Sears Fears: The Final Days of Sears & Kmart, 2019

Post by storewanderer »

So I guess as of last week the Kmart and Sears chains have 100% stopped accepting American Express cards. No signs posted in the store but when trying to pay, got a decline then was told by the cashier that they stopped accepting this card type at all locations.

However, no signs posted showing what cards they do accept, either. They probably removed all the old signs they had and did not get new updated signs yet.
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Re: Sears Fears: The Final Days of Sears & Kmart, 2019

Post by Super S »

I was up north yesterday and stopped at Southcenter and paid a visit to the Sears store there to look for something. I had to leave quickly though. The mildew smell from the A/C is still present throughout the store, but it has gotten worse to the point it is now overpowering. If I worked there I would probably be in contact with OSHA or the health department...this can't be healthy. It's pretty obvious Sears is no longer doing maintenance.
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Re: Sears Fears: The Final Days of Sears & Kmart, 2019

Post by Super S »

21 more Sears closures and 5 more Kmart closures announced:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/20 ... 940039001/

I am not familiar with any of the stores closing this time around. There is only one closure in Washington, in Spokane.
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Re: Sears Fears: The Final Days of Sears & Kmart, 2019

Post by wnetmacman »

Super S wrote: August 6th, 2019, 9:36 pm 21 more Sears closures and 5 more Kmart closures announced:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/20 ... 940039001/

I am not familiar with any of the stores closing this time around. There is only one closure in Washington, in Spokane.
Cape Girardeau, MO is a Sears Grand store. Don't expect much more from this format.

Texas City, TX is the lone anchor of The Mall of the Mainland. Someone was trying to redevelop it, but not having a lot of luck, so no surprise there.

Hurst, TX is a huge surprise; that's North East Mall. That's a very high traffic facility, and quite surprising that it's going away.

Palmer, MA is a former Grants store that's held on for 43 years.

Redlands, CA is an older Group 3 store that was expanded forward.

Jamestown, NY is a newer, expandable Kmart from 1995. An odd holdout up to this point.
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Re: Sears Fears: The Final Days of Sears & Kmart, 2019

Post by Knight »

There are not many Kmart stores left in some states. Georgia has no stores, North Carolina has four stores, and South Carolina has three stores.
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Re: Sears Fears: The Final Days of Sears & Kmart, 2019

Post by Super S »

Knight wrote: August 7th, 2019, 9:33 am There are not many Kmart stores left in some states. Georgia has no stores, North Carolina has four stores, and South Carolina has three stores.
Washington, Idaho, and Montana each have two. Oregon, Utah, Nevada, and Wyoming each have one. Kmart has no stores left in several states now.

Oregon and Idaho have no full-line Sears stores left, while Washington still has six full-line stores.

With a store count like this, many think the company is already out of business.
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Re: Sears Fears: The Final Days of Sears & Kmart, 2019

Post by cjd »

Well Sebring, FL is a goner now! I'm a little suprised since it was really the only store left in central FL. Lake Wales closed a couple of years ago and Lakeland closed (I believe last year or this year), and Lakeland seemed to be a well stocked store.

In a way I'm not suprised since I was just talking this week about how if the Sebring store was on a 20 year lease, it may well be up soon, since the store was built in 1999.

The mall it's in is going to have two vacancies, since there was also a Kmart in it which closed in early 2018.
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Re: Sears Fears: The Final Days of Sears & Kmart, 2019

Post by storewanderer »

I see that Sears in the ghost mall in Aberdeen, WA keeps holding on...

This is a pretty significant round of closures for a chain with less than 400 stores. There have been some other "quiet" closures the past four or five months as well so I wonder what this actually brings store count to. Sears count appears to be approaching 150. Tough to see how it makes any sense to keep the full line Sears format going long term...

Kmart store count probably will still be closer to 200. Still don't think that is enough stores to keep going long term.
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Re: Sears Fears: The Final Days of Sears & Kmart, 2019

Post by cjd »

At this point it seems they're just riding out the leases. If you figure when all the Sears and Kmarts around here closed or are closing, it comes up to 20 or 25 years from their opening.

They aren't going to renew any leases. They're just trying to squeeze the most profits out of them as they can, until they have to close.

I see them maybe making another 5 to 10 years max as a chain and even that seems quite doubtful.

The logistics of operating just a few or even one store in a state just doesn't make sense.
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