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

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

Post by submariner »

Based on data available as of 31 December, 2021 (Updated 27 October 2022), here's where we stand:

Kmart - 9 total: 3 stores in the 50 States, 1 in Guam, 1 in Puerto Rico, and 4 in the USVI.
• Miami, FL
Key West, FL (CLOSED 6 March)
Hamilton, MT (CLOSED 6 March)
Avenel, NJ (CLOSED 16 April)
• Westwood, NJ
• Bridgehampton, NY
• Tamuning, GU
Hato Rey, PR (CLOSING ANNOUNCED)
• Frederiksted, VI
• St. Croix, VI
• St. Thomas (Tutu Park Mall), VI
• St. Thomas (Lockhart Gardens), VI

Sears - 20 total: 19 in the 50 states (14 full-line, 2 Home & Life, 3 Appliance & Mattress), and 1 full-line store in Puerto Rico remain.
Anchorage, AK (Sears Home & Life) (CLOSED)
Burbank, CA (CLOSING ANNOUNCED)
• Concord, CA
• Stockton, CA
• Whittier, CA
Fort Collins, CO (Sears Appliance & Mattress)
Fort Lauderdale, FL (CLOSED 21 January)
• Miami, FL
• Orlando, FL
• Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Honolulu, HI (Sears Appliance & Mattress) (CLOSED)
Overland Park, KS (Sears Home & Life)
Lafayette, LA (Sears Home & Life)
• Frederick, MD
• Braintree, MA
• Jersey City, NJ
Newburgh, NY (CLOSED)
• Greensboro, NC
Camp Hill, PA (Sears Appliance & Mattress)
Willow Grove, PA (CLOSED 6 March)
• El Paso, TX
Pharr, TX (Sears Appliance & Mattress)
• Tukwila, WA
Union Gap, WA (CLOSED)
• Hato Rey, PR

Footnotes:
  • 21 January: Our first official casualty as Fort Lauderdale's Sears store closes unexpectedly.
  • 6 March: Two Kmart and one Sears store close, with Key West closing a week ahead of schedule.
  • 9 March: Announcement of the Kmart in Avenel, NJ closing, effective 17 April.
  • 30 August: Three Sears store closings announced.
  • 14 October: Four Sears closures, plus one announced.
  • 27 October: The last Kmart in Puerto Rico announced to close at the end of October.
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Re: 2022: 11 Kmart, 29 Sears stores remain...

Post by babs »

So there is a shot they make it to 2023? Don't count 'em out!!!
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Re: 2022: 11 Kmart, 29 Sears stores remain...

Post by storewanderer »

Almost surreal this thread is still rolling.

I need to get moving on planning the upcoming trip to Hamilton, MT. Current forecast at -10 degrees F tonight. I am concerned if I don't go quickly the store will close. I may just miss out.

On that Sears list, 3 locations are a format called "Sears Home & Life." This was a format, perhaps the last "new" dead end format developed by Sears, developed in 2019.
These are the Home & Life locations:
Anchorage
Overland Park, KS
Lafayette, LA

Initially when Sears basically vacated certain metro areas it appeared they had a plan to open a Home & Life after exiting the final full line store in a given metro area to try and keep some hardlines/appliance share in a market. But after those first 3 opened, no more opened, and hundreds of major metro areas have since been exited. But on the other hand, all 3 of those stores are still open. You'd think if these stores were complete failures, they'd have closed them already.

More recently I am hearing a few reports of closed Sears Stores being reopened as Sears Hometown Stores. I think this is happening right now in Houston. These Sears Hometown Stores are opening as corporate operated stores, not dealers.

The other format Sears is still running is this: these are all corporate operated. It appears the AZ locations have closed but the others remain.
https://monarkhome.com/showrooms/
I think this is a more upscale version of the Home & Life format, minus the mattresses.
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Re: 2022: 11 Kmart, 29 Sears stores remain...

Post by Super S »

Tukwila, WA is barely limping along. I have been to that location a few times and every time there is a bad, moldy smell coming from the HVAC system, and now the third floor has been closed off.

I find it interesting that Sears is still open in Alaska and Hawaii though.
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Re: 2022: 11 Kmart, 29 Sears stores remain...

Post by pseudo3d »

storewanderer wrote: December 31st, 2021, 10:54 pm Almost surreal this thread is still rolling.

I need to get moving on planning the upcoming trip to Hamilton, MT. Current forecast at -10 degrees F tonight. I am concerned if I don't go quickly the store will close. I may just miss out.

On that Sears list, 3 locations are a format called "Sears Home & Life." This was a format, perhaps the last "new" dead end format developed by Sears, developed in 2019.
These are the Home & Life locations:
Anchorage
Overland Park, KS
Lafayette, LA

Initially when Sears basically vacated certain metro areas it appeared they had a plan to open a Home & Life after exiting the final full line store in a given metro area to try and keep some hardlines/appliance share in a market. But after those first 3 opened, no more opened, and hundreds of major metro areas have since been exited. But on the other hand, all 3 of those stores are still open. You'd think if these stores were complete failures, they'd have closed them already.

More recently I am hearing a few reports of closed Sears Stores being reopened as Sears Hometown Stores. I think this is happening right now in Houston. These Sears Hometown Stores are opening as corporate operated stores, not dealers.

The other format Sears is still running is this: these are all corporate operated. It appears the AZ locations have closed but the others remain.
https://monarkhome.com/showrooms/
I think this is a more upscale version of the Home & Life format, minus the mattresses.
Sears Hometown has also opened in a portion of a store in Dallas. I think the line-up right now includes Pasadena (part of an old Sears store that uses the signage outside but no mall entrance to what is now MacroPlaza), Humble (near but not in Deerbrook Mall, which had a Sears store of its own), Cypress (in a former Appliance Showroom store), and Sugar Land (same). According to Google, Willowbrook will reopen a Sears Hometown in two weeks but I'm not sure if it will be in the old Sears, and if it will have an interior entrance or not.

Willowbrook Mall's webpage does not list Sears Hometown as "coming soon", almost as if they aren't proud of it...
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Re: 2022: 11 Kmart, 29 Sears stores remain...

Post by TW-Upstate NY »

Why just why?
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Re: 2022: 11 Kmart, 29 Sears stores remain...

Post by pseudo3d »

The list of full-line Sears stores is even smaller (and who knows what "full line" even means anymore!)

• Burbank, CA - Burbank Town Center, 1991
• Concord, CA - Sunvalley Mall, 1967
• Stockton, CA - Weberstown Mall, 1966
• Whittier, CA - Whittwood Town Center*, ~1998
• Fort Lauderdale, FL - standalone, unknown
• Miami, FL - standalone, unknown
• Orlando, FL - The Florida Mall, 1986
• Palm Beach Gardens, FL - The Gardens Mall, 1988
• Frederick, MD - Francis Scott Key Mall, 1978
• Braintree, MA - South Shore Plaza, 1980
• Jersey City, NJ - Newport Centre, 1987
• Newburgh, NY - Newburgh Mall, 1980(?)
• Greensboro, NC - Friendly Center*, unknown
• Willow Grove, PA - Willow Grove Park Mall, 1987
• El Paso, TX - Cielo Vista Mall, 1982
• Tukwila, WA - Westfield Southcenter, 1968
• Union Gap, WA - Valley Mall, 1972(?)


In addition to H&L stores (Anchorage, Lafayette, Overland Park), Pharr, Ft. Collins, Camp Hill, Honolulu are Appliances & Mattresses stores.
Westland, Media, and Massapequa closed last year
* outdoor center

And yes, Willowbrook Mall's Sears is partially reopening as Hometown, even if the website doesn't list it. Go figure, huh? Here's a picture Houston Historic Retail took of the mall entrance.

https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/ ... e=61D5F282
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Re: 2022: 11 Kmart, 29 Sears stores remain...

Post by Romr123 »

We wandered through Fort Lauderdale, FL a couple days ago. Depressing, and we realized it's likely our last ever visit to a Sears store. This standalone store dates to roughly 1954-ish...we wandered through both floors (escalators were working). Broken sizes/styles of old merchandise; some old Kenmore small appliances but more prevalent was Brentwood junque...some appliances were shown as in-stock in their boxes for takeaway, a few scratch and dent items (a Kenmore Elite range hood was tempting at $179 original price $799 from Italy) . The key shop/engraving concession was still in operation. There was a plaintive "We're Still Open" sign on US1, as the (closed) auto center takes up most of the frontage on Sunrise. The across-US1 auto dealership row is entirely empty (leading to about 1/3 mile of completely dead retail). It is a shame--the displays were well-hung and clearly had some effort placed on them).
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Re: 2022: 11 Kmart, 29 Sears stores remain...

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

Transformco (Sears) is selling its Hoffman Estates HQ: https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/s ... s/2710614/
If they are selling off the HQ, then this is really the end.
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Re: 2022: 11 Kmart, 29 Sears stores remain...

Post by storewanderer »

pseudo3d wrote: January 1st, 2022, 4:47 pm


In addition to H&L stores (Anchorage, Lafayette, Overland Park), Pharr, Ft. Collins, Camp Hill, Honolulu are Appliances & Mattresses stores.
Westland, Media, and Massapequa closed last year
* outdoor center

Well full line means the store still has all departments represented... even if they are all shadows of what they once were.

So I am confused what is an Appliance & Mattress Store vs. what is a Home and Life Store. I guess either are corporate operated. I am surprised they do not also feature rugs.

Then the Hometown Store which can be either dealer operated or Corporate operated, I guess the idea with those is to try and open them as Corporate then find a dealer to buy them.
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