Retail Watchers

Hey guys the Kmart I work at in Charleston #7239. We were told on October 10th that we are closing effective October 27th when the liquidation sale starts. We have to be out of the building by January 31st, 2014.

Is this another instance of the lease not being renewed?

Nope. Lease was renewed for another 5 years. But the shopping center was sold so the store is closing so the center can be rebuilt.

It is a complicated mess. If you worked there you would understand what I mean.

I learned the Rancho Cordova, CA Kmart is closing in December. This was announced last week. The shopping center was sold recently as well. The store will become part Sportsman's Warehouse, part I suspect Grocery Outlet, and a small part something else.

I think it is pretty clear what is going on at Kmart. It is being wound down. I am surprised they are even doing any advertising or anything to even pretend like they are still a viable chain that intends to stay in business. Why even bother?

One would think that Kmart is quietly being phased out, as they seem to be the majority of store closings, and the efforts will be put into Sears in the future. However, Sears stores are also closing quietly for many of the same reasons including not renewing leases. In ten years it will be interesting to see if either name still exists.

There's one (I think) closing in the Albany (NY) area - the store at Central & 155 for anyone familiar with the area.

Of course, the ads simply state total inventory blowout, there's nothing on the outside of the store itself with any words like closing or going out of business (a few signs by the doors, but still the total inventory wording) and of course a Pepsi banner that says now hiring!

Hmm....

This store is freestanding with an auto area (actually in use by a local Goodyear store, at least at the moment) and a small attached grocery market space (empty, has been a couple things since the Price Chopper moved to larger space(s - now in their 2nd building since this one) next door), but it isn't exactly the same style of building as the more familiar "concrete arch" design that I've seen in many photos of older Kmart/grocery and nothing else attached combos.

Total Inventory blowout sounds like a KAP event.

Are all sales final? That is the sign a store is officially closing.

Or maybe it is converting to K Dollar?

Of course, sometimes there are signs prior...

Our store did the "INVENTORY BLOWOUT" SALE OF 10 TO 30% OFF THE ENTIRE STORE. BUT THAT WAS A SALE DONE BY SHC-KMART. NOT A LIQUIDATION COMPANY.

BillyGr wrote:There's one (I think) closing in the Albany (NY) area - the store at Central & 155 for anyone familiar with the area.

This was confirmed on one of the local TV station's news broadcasts today. The reason given (surprise, surprise)-deciding not to renew the lease. That leaves just three left in the immediate Albany and Schnectady area. One of them is in the Rotterdam Square Mall. That store could make for an interesting discussion in and of itself. It is an anchor store on one end of the mall and Sears is another anchor on the other end. Both are original tennants when the mall opened in 1988. Are there any other malls like that out there with a similar overlap? There must be but I don't ever recall that being mentioned here.

TW-Upstate NY wrote:

BillyGr wrote:There's one (I think) closing in the Albany (NY) area - the store at Central & 155 for anyone familiar with the area.

This was confirmed on one of the local TV station's news broadcasts today. The reason given (surprise, surprise)-deciding not to renew the lease. That leaves just three left in the immediate Albany and Schnectady area. One of them is in the Rotterdam Square Mall. That store could make for an interesting discussion in and of itself. It is an anchor store on one end of the mall and Sears is another anchor on the other end. Both are original tennants when the mall opened in 1988. Are there any other malls like that out there with a similar overlap? There must be but I don't ever recall that being mentioned here.

Thanks - hasn't gotten back to post that I saw that on TV to confirm it is a closing.

I suppose you could say 4 left, depending on what is part of the area (Latham & Rotterdam definite, also the East Greenbush and Clifton Park (I think).

Rotterdam is the only one in a mall I can think of around here (even the closed ones on Rt 50(Scotia/Glenville?), Glenmont, Saratoga, Pittsfield were in plazas). The only other place that comes to mind in the area where the two were both in the same mall is in Kingston, before the Kmart moved to open a Super Kmart (and of course long before the two were co-owned).