Re: 2022: 10 Kmart, 23 Sears stores remain...
Posted: May 29th, 2022, 7:19 am
My latest photos from the Sears deathwatch in Greensboro:
Crazy about retail.
https://www.retailwatchers.com/
I wonder if those are all the leftover sweaters they couldn't get rid of in Grass Valley Kmart. They had been trying for a couple years. Most were still there a couple days before final closure.Groceteria wrote: ↑May 29th, 2022, 7:19 am My latest photos from the Sears deathwatch in Greensboro:
Well I guess since Kmart is Kmart, they may stretch these stores out a couple more years.DFWRetaileWatcher wrote: ↑May 5th, 2022, 11:55 am No clue on the timeline, if that's actually the case.
I saw some somewhat recent photos of the last NY Store and it appears the Sears Appliance Department is basically emptied out, but in clothing they are somehow sourcing some brand name items that are not present even in the remaining Sears locations that I've seen.BatteryMill wrote: ↑July 1st, 2022, 11:59 amWell I guess since Kmart is Kmart, they may stretch these stores out a couple more years.DFWRetaileWatcher wrote: ↑May 5th, 2022, 11:55 am No clue on the timeline, if that's actually the case.
Might just be a quiet closing at that point if they're not chipping away at certain departments (electronics I think they've done away with?).storewanderer wrote: ↑July 1st, 2022, 12:07 pm I saw some somewhat recent photos of the last NY Store and it appears the Sears Appliance Department is basically emptied out, but in clothing they are somehow sourcing some brand name items that are not present even in the remaining Sears locations that I've seen.
Really tough to understand what they are doing....... they are like one off independent stores at this point.
Guam and Virgin Islands still have a small ad circular on their Facebook pages.
Given the closure of a large number of Hometown Stores recently, which hit CA particularly hard, I wonder if they are letting the appliance thing go now too. That Sears I went to down in SoCal a couple months ago was well staffed in appliances, despite not appearing to have much to sell.kr.abs.swy wrote: ↑July 31st, 2022, 11:15 am I was back in Seattle this week, so I stopped in at the Southcenter Sears again.
Continue to just be amazed that Sears thinks that the highest and best use of an entire floor of this store is to sit vacant. This has got to be expensive real estate in a busy mall surrounded by retail, but the best business plan Sears can come up with is to sell a motley collection of clothes out of the first floor, a sparse selection of appliances and mattresses out of the second floor, and keep the third floor empty during "departmental transition." Just boggles my mind.
Actual inventory was not dramatically different than what I saw when I was there in February. There were lots of sparse sections and the appliance and mattress section was depressing, but I don't think it was any worse. I actually noticed a few more brand names (Dockers for example) occasionally in men's. I also saw lots of Kmart tags. Still mostly off brands and some Basic Editions/Simply Styled type brands. Really not much reason to shop for clothes at that Sears than at a Walmart, with the exception of some work gear.
In the men's room, the soap dispenser had broken, so the low-budget solution they had come up with was to have a spray bottle with some kind of soap solution inside it. You sprayed the soap onto your hands because -- apparently -- they are too cheap (or can't afford) to buy an actual soap dispenser. The men's room smelled awful and had some graffiti.
I also noticed that some of the department name signs that had been bolted onto the pillars had been left behind when the departments were shuffled around, so there were signs for departments that were now in a different section of the store.
The shoe section was a disaster. No electronics. No specialty departments like hearing aids/photo studio. Some departments (luggage) were exceptionally sparse. I still didn't get the sense that there was any coherent merchandising strategy beyond "we got this out of a closing Kmart and decided to see if we could sell it at a soon-to-be-closing Sears." I didn't notice any employees in the appliance section.
Did they have any US Polo Association product? I did not see any of that a few months ago but see it in photos of other locations.Bagels wrote: ↑August 2nd, 2022, 12:21 pm "Just for fun," we stopped at the Whittier Sears the other day. For the most part, the store was neat & clean, but there wasn't much merchandise in it. The clothing sections seemed like a thrift shop -- random collections of various items moved from nearby Sears & Kmarts that have since shuttered. Not really sure why Sears keeps these remaining stores open...
The majority of people in the store were like me, engaging in the nostalgia and taking picture. But in fairness, I’ve been to the Spectrum Center and Bella Terra malls in recent weeks and while they were absolutely packed (and difficult to find parking), hardly anyone was buying anything.storewanderer wrote: ↑August 2nd, 2022, 9:57 pmDid they have any US Polo Association product? I did not see any of that a few months ago but see it in photos of other locations.Bagels wrote: ↑August 2nd, 2022, 12:21 pm "Just for fun," we stopped at the Whittier Sears the other day. For the most part, the store was neat & clean, but there wasn't much merchandise in it. The clothing sections seemed like a thrift shop -- random collections of various items moved from nearby Sears & Kmarts that have since shuttered. Not really sure why Sears keeps these remaining stores open...
The condition of the store is surprisingly good. Much better shape than a store of similar architecture Macys was operating in Sacramento but closed a few years ago.
Was anyone actually buying anything in the store?
I did find something to buy, but it was not easy. I question how the place does enough sales to make payroll.