Wall Township Kmart To Become Target: Delay

Predicting the demise of Sears & Kmart since 2017!
Post Reply
Alpha8472
Posts: 3929
Joined: February 24th, 2009, 8:55 pm
Been thanked: 79 times
Status: Offline

Wall Township Kmart To Become Target: Delay

Post by Alpha8472 »

The former 91,000 square foot Kmart was supposed to open May 15, 2022 but it has been postponed. No new date has been set.

It looks very similar to a Kmart still. Target usually tries to make their stores very Targety. This one still has a Kmart look.

Target Somers Point opened in 2021 in a former Kmart. Kearny, New Jersey will get a new Target also in a former Kmart.
ClownLoach
Valued Contributor
Valued Contributor
Posts: 2692
Joined: April 4th, 2016, 10:55 pm
Has thanked: 40 times
Been thanked: 289 times
Status: Online

Re: Wall Township Kmart To Become Target: Delay

Post by ClownLoach »

Alpha8472 wrote: May 15th, 2022, 9:10 am The former 91,000 square foot Kmart was supposed to open May 15, 2022 but it has been postponed. No new date has been set.

It looks very similar to a Kmart still. Target usually tries to make their stores very Targety. This one still has a Kmart look.

Target Somers Point opened in 2021 in a former Kmart. Kearny, New Jersey will get a new Target also in a former Kmart.
The remodels starting in 2021 definitely got a COVID budget cut. The stores are cheaper in appearance and are getting very little if any exterior changes done. Concrete floors are back along with cheaper open warehouse ceilings. Some of the expensive stuff Target was doing seems to be dropping out as well - for example stores that got the faux wood exterior towers/pylons are now getting spray painted red. Also seeing a lot of the track lighting removed on recent refreshes to stores remodeled just a few years ago - clearly they got tired of paying the increased electricity costs. But they're inching closer to being a "red Walmart" with these cheaper stores while Walmart is working on upgraded signage, fixturing, etc.
babs
Assistant Store Manager
Assistant Store Manager
Posts: 762
Joined: December 20th, 2016, 3:08 pm
Has thanked: 19 times
Been thanked: 64 times
Status: Offline

Re: Wall Township Kmart To Become Target: Delay

Post by babs »

ClownLoach wrote: May 17th, 2022, 1:58 pm
Alpha8472 wrote: May 15th, 2022, 9:10 am The former 91,000 square foot Kmart was supposed to open May 15, 2022 but it has been postponed. No new date has been set.

It looks very similar to a Kmart still. Target usually tries to make their stores very Targety. This one still has a Kmart look.

Target Somers Point opened in 2021 in a former Kmart. Kearny, New Jersey will get a new Target also in a former Kmart.
The remodels starting in 2021 definitely got a COVID budget cut. The stores are cheaper in appearance and are getting very little if any exterior changes done. Concrete floors are back along with cheaper open warehouse ceilings. Some of the expensive stuff Target was doing seems to be dropping out as well - for example stores that got the faux wood exterior towers/pylons are now getting spray painted red. Also seeing a lot of the track lighting removed on recent refreshes to stores remodeled just a few years ago - clearly they got tired of paying the increased electricity costs. But they're inching closer to being a "red Walmart" with these cheaper stores while Walmart is working on upgraded signage, fixturing, etc.
I'm actually seeing remodel budgets vary by store. A lot of them are either currently being remodeled or have recently been remodeled in the Portland market. Some stores are just getting the new cosmetics department and updated signage while others are getting a full wall to wall redo. I think they are allocating a larger budget to higher volume stores and scaling it down for lower volume stores.
storewanderer
Posts: 14379
Joined: February 23rd, 2009, 3:54 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 298 times
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Wall Township Kmart To Become Target: Delay

Post by storewanderer »

babs wrote: May 17th, 2022, 10:55 pm

I'm actually seeing remodel budgets vary by store. A lot of them are either currently being remodeled or have recently been remodeled in the Portland market. Some stores are just getting the new cosmetics department and updated signage while others are getting a full wall to wall redo. I think they are allocating a larger budget to higher volume stores and scaling it down for lower volume stores.
Reno Target was under remodel for close to a year and in the end it basically got a cheap looking version of the new cosmetics department (looks nothing like their ads), some new carpet and displays in softlines, new departmental signage, totally renovated Starbucks, more self checkouts, and supposedly a major backroom remodel. It still has the same floor, lighting, and shelves it opened with ~25 years ago in the rest of the store. This is a very high volume Target being the only one in Reno (there are 5 Wal Marts in Reno) and an operational disaster of a store. It has the P-Fresh basically exactly the same as before.

Carson City Target was remodeled a few years ago and it also looks nothing like the pictures, has no P-Fresh (despite being 5 miles from a grocery store), and kept old flooring and shelving. It also maintains the store layout from 1995 which is very odd. Consumables are all over the store (food up front, cleaning/laundry in the middle, pet in the back). This is a very low volume store but has grown some in recent years. Before this it had the interior it opened with in 1995. Inventory level in this store is really low at present.
Alpha8472
Posts: 3929
Joined: February 24th, 2009, 8:55 pm
Been thanked: 79 times
Status: Offline

Re: Wall Township Kmart To Become Target: Delay

Post by Alpha8472 »

The very high volume Target in Walnut Creek, California recently completed yet another remodel. It was remodeled around 2019 into the fancy decor with faux wood on the exterior. This time the faux wood was removed from the exterior, and the exterior was repainted. Target must hate faux wood now.

The stock room was expanded by building an addition on top of the front parking lot. Now the store has even less parking. Also steel rolling doors were added to the entrances. This store was famously looted by thousands of shoplifters in 2020.
ClownLoach
Valued Contributor
Valued Contributor
Posts: 2692
Joined: April 4th, 2016, 10:55 pm
Has thanked: 40 times
Been thanked: 289 times
Status: Online

Re: Wall Township Kmart To Become Target: Delay

Post by ClownLoach »

babs wrote: May 17th, 2022, 10:55 pm
ClownLoach wrote: May 17th, 2022, 1:58 pm
Alpha8472 wrote: May 15th, 2022, 9:10 am The former 91,000 square foot Kmart was supposed to open May 15, 2022 but it has been postponed. No new date has been set.

It looks very similar to a Kmart still. Target usually tries to make their stores very Targety. This one still has a Kmart look.

Target Somers Point opened in 2021 in a former Kmart. Kearny, New Jersey will get a new Target also in a former Kmart.
The remodels starting in 2021 definitely got a COVID budget cut. The stores are cheaper in appearance and are getting very little if any exterior changes done. Concrete floors are back along with cheaper open warehouse ceilings. Some of the expensive stuff Target was doing seems to be dropping out as well - for example stores that got the faux wood exterior towers/pylons are now getting spray painted red. Also seeing a lot of the track lighting removed on recent refreshes to stores remodeled just a few years ago - clearly they got tired of paying the increased electricity costs. But they're inching closer to being a "red Walmart" with these cheaper stores while Walmart is working on upgraded signage, fixturing, etc.
I'm actually seeing remodel budgets vary by store. A lot of them are either currently being remodeled or have recently been remodeled in the Portland market. Some stores are just getting the new cosmetics department and updated signage while others are getting a full wall to wall redo. I think they are allocating a larger budget to higher volume stores and scaling it down for lower volume stores.
They have varied from the start, but they removed the "top quartile" remodel which was practically a complete new store and added a new "bottom quartile" which amounts to interval maintenence of carpet replacement and wall painting. And many of these remodels now are to add e-commerce sorting warehouses into the existing building which is why you may see them adding on to the building but nothing really changing on the sales floor, sometimes they're able to squeeze in new paint, interior signs and flooring into the budget for the e-commerce remodels. Exterior remodel work has been greatly scaled back to be more refinishing/repainting of existing surface instead of new construction as we were seeing before where remodels usually added a higher glass window set at entrances and towers with the bullseye. Now whatever was there gets painted or paneled red and maybe the upper case letters change out to lower case but that is about all they are doing outside now.

They implemented cost cutting practices into all of 2021 and on interior remodels. They reuse all gondola fixtures now in all tiers of remodel when in the past the more intensive remodels got all new fixtures. Where linoleum is staying they no longer clear out a quadrant at a time and lay all new tile, now they just move the gondolas and strip what they can then remove and replace the most stained tiles. Before the store would have a completely new linoleum floor after a remodel and now it is patchwork that looks like something Walmart would do. And they are experimenting with really cheap practices like going back to the concrete floor program they had halted previously due to ugliness - now they paint with stenciled patterns over the worst trenched or patched areas to hide it. They are also moving towards warehouse ceilings even in full size existing stores and seem to be testing how far they can go with this cheaper setup. Some stores are 100% warehouse style (although these are mainly smaller format) and others are having variable amounts of the ceiling tiles removed. They showed a store in Minneapolis where all perimeter aisles are now warehouse ceiling but they left drop ceiling in center store. In Encinitas they went warehouse ceiling over the front end in a former Greatland that always had tiles. I don't believe they are replacing checkstands in any remodel now either; they reuse the existing ones and are even bringing in used matching counters from other stores at times.

There is a benefit to the customer in these cost saving remodels however - they are getting done in 45 to 60 days while the more intensive ones with numerous gondola moves due to complete floor replacement and temporary sets were taking up to 4 months to complete. I think the supply chain problems also may be necessitating the greatly reduced scale of all remodels - I saw a store where wall finishes had not been complete (the fiberglass panels they use for wainscoting obviously were delayed) and they literally just affixed particle board then painted it Target red on the entire front end hallways to the restrooms and offices. Surprisingly they did such a good job I didn't notice it at first. I've heard horror stories about new store setups at other retailers in 2020 where they were missing hundreds of not thousands of fixture parts and had to makeshift all over the store so that may be another reason Target is only reusing fixtures now and not buying new. The big parts like shelves are made in the US but all the little pieces all come from China.
Brian Lutz
Store Manager
Store Manager
Posts: 1425
Joined: March 1st, 2009, 5:51 pm
Location: Piedmont Triad, NC
Been thanked: 56 times
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Wall Township Kmart To Become Target: Delay

Post by Brian Lutz »

Alpha8472 wrote: May 18th, 2022, 8:51 am The very high volume Target in Walnut Creek, California recently completed yet another remodel. It was remodeled around 2019 into the fancy decor with faux wood on the exterior. This time the faux wood was removed from the exterior, and the exterior was repainted. Target must hate faux wood now.

The stock room was expanded by building an addition on top of the front parking lot. Now the store has even less parking. Also steel rolling doors were added to the entrances. This store was famously looted by thousands of shoplifters in 2020.
The Faux Wood exteriors didn't last very long. The Lake Stevens store here got it in its last (circa 2019) remodel but it was removed within less than a year and replaced with red panels. Another feature of this exterior decor was that there was only a bullseye logo sign on the front of the store, no words. My guess is that someone in corporate decided the wood look and wordless logo was too off-brand, and they probably had a point on that one.
Post Reply