2022: 10 Kmart, 23 Sears stores remain...

Predicting the demise of Sears & Kmart since 2017!
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Re: 2022: 10 Kmart, 23 Sears stores remain...

Post by submariner »

Retailuser wrote: May 4th, 2022, 2:21 pm Any more closure updates? Been quite.
So far, nothing. The Transformco Jobs page doesn't have any temp jobs posted (a good indicator of a closing store).
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Re: 2022: 10 Kmart, 23 Sears stores remain...

Post by storewanderer »

Rumor has it they still have leftover Christmas Sweaters taken from various 95% off liquidation sales. For some reason those just aren't selling. As soon as they can get rid of all of those, they will finally close down the remaining stores. They are very hopeful the current NJ closure will turn the corner on moving those.

Also another rumor is they still have a facility with some 20 year old point of sale equipment stored. Thousands of units. They are under the belief that this equipment is all in good working order. They do not want to waste equipment, and the equipment in the stores keeps breaking. So they also want to stay open to cycle through all of that stored equipment.

There are many reasons why they continue to stay open...
?

Also this is the only part of the post that is actually serious. Sears Hometown has moved on to a different POS hardware/software. It was previously using newer NCR hardware but still the old Sears register software.
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Re: 2022: 10 Kmart, 23 Sears stores remain...

Post by BatteryMill »

storewanderer wrote: May 4th, 2022, 6:56 pm Rumor has it they still have leftover Christmas Sweaters taken from various 95% off liquidation sales. For some reason those just aren't selling. As soon as they can get rid of all of those, they will finally close down the remaining stores. They are very hopeful the current NJ closure will turn the corner on moving those.

Also another rumor is they still have a facility with some 20 year old point of sale equipment stored. Thousands of units. They are under the belief that this equipment is all in good working order. They do not want to waste equipment, and the equipment in the stores keeps breaking. So they also want to stay open to cycle through all of that stored equipment.

There are many reasons why they continue to stay open...
?

Also this is the only part of the post that is actually serious. Sears Hometown has moved on to a different POS hardware/software. It was previously using newer NCR hardware but still the old Sears register software.
So that's an interesting holdup. Could certainly offer those for pennies, sell them off or give them away as donation.

I have also heard rumblings that shopping center owners which still have Kmarts are looking to collectively ditch the chain this year. I do also wonder what would be the deal with the territorial U.S. stores.
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Re: 2022: 10 Kmart, 23 Sears stores remain...

Post by storewanderer »

BatteryMill wrote: May 4th, 2022, 8:43 pm

So that's an interesting holdup. Could certainly offer those for pennies, sell them off or give them away as donation.

I have also heard rumblings that shopping center owners which still have Kmarts are looking to collectively ditch the chain this year. I do also wonder what would be the deal with the territorial U.S. stores.
I have had many opportunities to purchase said sweaters, for almost nothing. I have passed every time.

They could also make a good pet blanket with some work. Or something to put at the bottom of a dog igloo, etc. I forgot to mention most of the sweaters left are sizes XXXX etc. very large- lots of material for the money if you are going to repurpose the shirt.
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Re: 2022: 10 Kmart, 23 Sears stores remain...

Post by DFWRetaileWatcher »

I suspect the real reason these 3 Kmart stores remain open is that they're waiting on the leases to run out.
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Re: 2022: 10 Kmart, 23 Sears stores remain...

Post by BatteryMill »

DFWRetaileWatcher wrote: May 5th, 2022, 5:58 am I suspect the real reason these 3 Kmart stores remain open is that they're waiting on the leases to run out.
Do you see this happening this year?
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Re: 2022: 10 Kmart, 23 Sears stores remain...

Post by DFWRetaileWatcher »

BatteryMill wrote: May 5th, 2022, 10:43 am
DFWRetaileWatcher wrote: May 5th, 2022, 5:58 am I suspect the real reason these 3 Kmart stores remain open is that they're waiting on the leases to run out.
Do you see this happening this year?
No clue on the timeline, if that's actually the case.
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Re: 2022: 10 Kmart, 23 Sears stores remain...

Post by storewanderer »

Went to Sears in Whittier, CA. Big former 3 story Broadway store. Open 11 to 6. Interior fully remodeled by Sears in the mid 90s. Seems well maintained enough.

You enter the store through either pick up or hardlines. They have a big section with rugs at entry, about six pieces of fitness equipment on display, and a few pallet type displays of Craftsman products as you enter. Then you get over to appliances or women's clothing. The hardlines area had about 4 employees.

Women's clothing and jewelry on first floor. They have some new items in clothing in unfamiliar generic labels and most of clothing is at 30% off. They seem to have gotten a lot of new Roebuck denim in (that is the only denim they sell). There was a small rack of 1.99 items and the sign above said clearance all Jaclyn Smith so it appears that brand is gone now. Jewelry was basically empty but had some items. There were a few sad random racks of towels and home items off to one side. There was one employee in the softlines area, working as cashier and in between unpacking some purses from boxes.

Second floor has men's clothing and kids clothing. Horrible. Again some new denim showed up but the rest of it is a very odd mix of odd items. No employees up there. Nowhere to pay for items. The recorded legal warning piped out of a box as you go toward the down escalator from second floor to first floor is a real trip back to the 70s.

Third floor is closed but can be accessed via elevator. Has old fixtures and such. Looks like it may have previously housed a clearance department also. Partially lit.

Bought something. Employee did not ask me about a Sears card or Shop Your Way card. Good to see we are past that hassle. Received a Sears 125th anniversary plastic bag again. That anniversary was in 2018. Received a receipt with a coupon and return policy on the back with a date under the policy of 2016.
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Re: 2022: 10 Kmart, 23 Sears stores remain...

Post by pseudo3d »

I read that 58 Sears Hometown stores were closing, Texas stores include San Marcos (only three months old), Cleveland (predated bankruptcy), Cypress (Former Appliance Showroom store), Pasadena (mall store that reopened, never opened into concourse), Parks at Arlington, Victoria, League City, Alice, and Pampa.
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Re: 2022: 10 Kmart, 23 Sears stores remain...

Post by mbz321 »

storewanderer wrote: May 20th, 2022, 11:36 pm The recorded legal warning piped out of a box as you go toward the down escalator from second floor to first floor is a real trip back to the 70s.

Legal warning?
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