More Kmart stores closing

[Flint1979]

When will Kmart close all there stores? I could go on about their stores. They refused to remodel any of their stores. Like the one in Clio that's closing doesn't look like it was touched since the 1990s. The one in Waterford that isn't closing looks like something out of the 1950s. Just file chapter 7 already Kmart/Sears after this next two rounds of Sears and Kmart closings there won't be either one of their stores within 70 miles of my house.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

We seem to be getting into the part of the program where the small-town Kmarts that might be the only game in town are now going under. That's not good news at all for them.

[RobbieL2415]

The Enfield, CT store was probably  where Kohl's is now.  GSV pics show the store has older walls.

[Flint1979]

We seem to be getting into the part of the program where the small-town Kmarts that might be the only game in town are now going under. That's not good news at all for them.

Two Michigan examples of that would be Grayling and Marine City. No Walmart or Meijer stores nearby.

Midland's closing is somewhat odd since in that city the Kmart is located on the other side of town from Walmart and Meijer.  Clio makes since it's located on the other side of I-75 from a Walmart and the next exit north has a Meijer. I was in that Kmart recently just to look around I bought a 20 ounce pop. The walls are yellow and white, the pharmacy had been closed for years and I think something about the flooring was strange.

[mgk920]

Wow Michigan is pretty mushed going to be wiped out. I had a count of 13 stores about a year and a half ago and this list has 9 Michigan locations closing including two within 30 miles of me. I'm not even sure where the nearest locations going to be.

The company was originally HQed in the Detroit area, too.

Their Waupaca, WI store is on their latest closing list (will there be any more left in the state?).

The powers that be should just put Sears Holdings out of their misery.



Mike

[Flint1979]

Wow Michigan is pretty mushed going to be wiped out. I had a count of 13 stores about a year and a half ago and this list has 9 Michigan locations closing including two within 30 miles of me. I'm not even sure where the nearest locations going to be.

The company was originally HQed in the Detroit area, too.

Their Waupaca, WI store is on their latest closing list (will there be any more left in the state?).

The powers that be should just put Sears Holdings out of their misery.



Mike

Yup it was in Troy. The building is still vacant I believe.

[Flint1979]

I'm actually in the Midland Kmart as I post this. There aren't any store closing signs or anything yet. There are a few people walking around here and there but not busy at all. Every department I walk in has either 1 or 2 people or nobody.

[ftballfan]

We seem to be getting into the part of the program where the small-town Kmarts that might be the only game in town are now going under. That's not good news at all for them.

Two Michigan examples of that would be Grayling and Marine City. No Walmart or Meijer stores nearby.

Midland's closing is somewhat odd since in that city the Kmart is located on the other side of town from Walmart and Meijer.  Clio makes since it's located on the other side of I-75 from a Walmart and the next exit north has a Meijer. I was in that Kmart recently just to look around I bought a 20 ounce pop. The walls are yellow and white, the pharmacy had been closed for years and I think something about the flooring was strange.

Add Oscoda to that category of "only game in town" Kmarts that are closing. There is a Walmart in Tawas City to the south and both Walmart and Meijer in Alpena to the north (both within an hour of Oscoda).
Grayling is within a half hour of Gaylord, which has both Walmart and Meijer. Also, Houghton Lake and West Branch to the south have Walmart.
Marine City has two Meijers within a half hour of it (New Haven and Marysville).

[Flint1979]

We seem to be getting into the part of the program where the small-town Kmarts that might be the only game in town are now going under. That's not good news at all for them.

Two Michigan examples of that would be Grayling and Marine City. No Walmart or Meijer stores nearby.

Midland's closing is somewhat odd since in that city the Kmart is located on the other side of town from Walmart and Meijer.  Clio makes since it's located on the other side of I-75 from a Walmart and the next exit north has a Meijer. I was in that Kmart recently just to look around I bought a 20 ounce pop. The walls are yellow and white, the pharmacy had been closed for years and I think something about the flooring was strange.

Add Oscoda to that category of "only game in town" Kmarts that are closing. There is a Walmart in Tawas City to the south and both Walmart and Meijer in Alpena to the north (both within an hour of Oscoda).
Grayling is within a half hour of Gaylord, which has both Walmart and Meijer. Also, Houghton Lake and West Branch to the south have Walmart.
Marine City has two Meijers within a half hour of it (New Haven and Marysville).

I love walking out of that Walmart in Tawas City and looking right at Lake Huron across the street. Some of those you mentioned are s little lengthy drive just to get there. Graying is smaller than Gaylord which was nice to at least have a Kmart there. It'll just be you have to drive a lot further. Yesterday when I was in the Midland store I kept thinking they might have something I want in here, turns out I still walked out empty handed.

[DaBigE]

The sudden rise of Costco was the final blow to K mart in Wisconsin.

Huh?? You're talking about two different types of stores with different types of shoppers. There are 8 Costcos in the whole state (Kmart had that many+ in the Milwaukee metro market alone), many in locations that opened after Kmart was gone from that city or market. Costco locations like Middleton and Sun Prairie never even had a Kmart (yes, Madison had at least three at one point, but Costco didn't move in until Kmart was gone). Similar case with Grafton and Menomonee Falls. If anything, Meijer was the final blow, but even they didn't really start moving in until Kmart was already in serious trouble.

[LM117]

I vaguely remember going to the Kmart in Belleville, MI as a kid when we lived there from 1993-1995.

[RobbieL2415]

If SHC had actually consolidated the operations of Kmart and Sears instead of just acting as the management division, I think things would have turned out a lot better.  Some examples of what I mean:

1) You cannot return Sears merchandise at a Kmart and vice versa.  Well, you technically can if it's a Sears item bought online at kmart.com but that's the only exception.

2) Management structure is highly fragmented and the company should have adopted a uniform structure that all stores must stick to.

3) Merge Sears and Kmart regional operations.  All districts contain both stores and each district has one DM.

4) Completely merge logistical systems and online ordering.  Have there be one uniform process for ordering freight, DC operations, customer order processing.

5) Adopt a uniform training policy.

6) Adopt a modern, unified POS system.

[dvferyance]

Wow Michigan is pretty mushed going to be wiped out. I had a count of 13 stores about a year and a half ago and this list has 9 Michigan locations closing including two within 30 miles of me. I'm not even sure where the nearest locations going to be.

The company was originally HQed in the Detroit area, too.

Their Waupaca, WI store is on their latest closing list (will there be any more left in the state?).

The powers that be should just put Sears Holdings out of their misery.



Mike

I know the one in Racine is closing that was the last one left in SE Wisconsin. As the ones in Oconomowoc and Cudahy closed early this year. It was 16 years ago when the first closed in New Berlin and that was the newest store in our area. Only been in operation 12 years it served as a Wal Mart from 2004 to 2015 but now it's vacant again as Wal Mart build a newer bigger store. Just goes to show you KMart never kept up with the times and the deiceded to close the newest store in my area first yeah that made sense.

[Flint1979]

Here is my opinion of Kmart

I think there stores are very outdated and none of them have ever gone through a remodel like they should have. They did a very poor job keeping up with the competition. Any of their stores located near a Walmart, Meijer or Target have been shut down for awhile for the most part.

Walking around the Clio Kmart yesterday it's very unorganized, the decor of the interior of the store is awful. In the Clio store it's white and yellow walls. It'll be white for awhile, then change to yellow, back to white, back to yellow and so on.

Kmart use to be a nice chain of stores. But today both Kmart and Sears are a joke. Just belly up and file for chapter 7 and get it over with already.

[DaBigE]

Wow Michigan is pretty mushed going to be wiped out. I had a count of 13 stores about a year and a half ago and this list has 9 Michigan locations closing including two within 30 miles of me. I'm not even sure where the nearest locations going to be.

The company was originally HQed in the Detroit area, too.

Their Waupaca, WI store is on their latest closing list (will there be any more left in the state?).

The powers that be should just put Sears Holdings out of their misery.



Mike

I know the one in Racine is closing that was the last one left in SE Wisconsin. As the ones in Oconomowoc and Cudahy closed early this year. It was 16 years ago when the first closed in New Berlin and that was the newest store in our area. Only been in operation 12 years it served as a Wal Mart from 2004 to 2015 but now it's vacant again as Wal Mart build a newer bigger store. Just goes to show you KMart never kept up with the times and the deiceded to close the newest store in my area first yeah that made sense.

Isn't the one in Kenosha remaining open?

[catch22]

Yup it was in Troy. The building is still vacant I believe.

Yes, still vacant.  It has a really weird "bunch of boxes" design that no one else seems to be able to find a use for.  There was some discussion in the press a while back about nuking the building and redeveloping the parcel, but it still sits.  Here's a Google aerial view and a look from Big Beaver Road.  Imagine having to walk from one end to the other through the maze.

https://goo.gl/maps/3StN8z5Fm3bTHJz69

https://goo.gl/maps/5EqWrsbVnQeX8Gaq8

[In_Correct]

Yup it was in Troy. The building is still vacant I believe.

Yes, still vacant.  It has a really weird "bunch of boxes" design that no one else seems to be able to find a use for.  There was some discussion in the press a while back about nuking the building and redeveloping the parcel, but it still sits.  Here's a Google aerial view and a look from Big Beaver Road.  Imagine having to walk from one end to the other through the maze.

https://goo.gl/maps/3StN8z5Fm3bTHJz69

https://goo.gl/maps/5EqWrsbVnQeX8Gaq8

Interesting. And The Kresge Foundation is located across the street from it.

[mgk920]

Wow Michigan is pretty mushed going to be wiped out. I had a count of 13 stores about a year and a half ago and this list has 9 Michigan locations closing including two within 30 miles of me. I'm not even sure where the nearest locations going to be.

The company was originally HQed in the Detroit area, too.

Their Waupaca, WI store is on their latest closing list (will there be any more left in the state?).

The powers that be should just put Sears Holdings out of their misery.



Mike

I know the one in Racine is closing that was the last one left in SE Wisconsin. As the ones in Oconomowoc and Cudahy closed early this year. It was 16 years ago when the first closed in New Berlin and that was the newest store in our area. Only been in operation 12 years it served as a Wal Mart from 2004 to 2015 but now it's vacant again as Wal Mart build a newer bigger store. Just goes to show you KMart never kept up with the times and the deiceded to close the newest store in my area first yeah that made sense.

Isn't the one in Kenosha remaining open?

I just learned of another one in NE Wisconsin that is on the latest hit list - Ripon, WI.

Mike

[Revive 755]

The sudden rise of Costco was the final blow to K mart in Wisconsin.

Yet Kenosha (with what appears to be the only surviving K mart in Wisconsin) has a Costco, as well as a Target and Meijers.

[thenetwork]

This may be the definitive article that summons the Grim Reaper.   The article also mentions that the Chicago HQ is becoming a ghost town...

https://www.forbes.com/sites/warrenshoulberg/2019/09/03/is-this-the-sears-endgame-reported-77-more-stores-closing-hq-being-sold/

[In_Correct]

I am going to type my commentary about Sears K Mart. Basically I have no use for either place. If they go away, I can not say that I will miss them.

Sears has been around for ever as a Store and as well as a Foundation. But now the Store is going down hill. I remember Sears being a department store ranging from clothes and linens to appliances and tools. The tools include silly "Craftsman" with many commercials by Bob Vila. They are also a Carrier H.V.A.C. dealer. Other stores sell clothes and linens. As for appliances and tools, I prefer Lowe's and Home Depot.

Kresge Mart, never mind ... It is better as K Mart, also has a Kresge Foundation. So that is another Store with a founder that started both a Store and a Foundation. Another store with a truncated last name of its founder Walmart (or Wal-Mart ... or perhaps Wal * Mart ... or perhaps Wal  Mart ) has expanded tremendously. K Mart was ahead of its time, as it seemed to be Walmart before Walmart expanded. K Mart had numerous expansions, most of them discontinued. Walmart's various expansions seem to be much more successful. Also with Walmart's successful expansions no need for "Super K Mart". And with Dollar General Market, there is no need for "Big K Mart" any more either. And finally, there is a Hyper Market (or Hypermarket) known as Target which is an alternative to Walmart. K Mart now has to compete with Walmart and Target. I remember Blue Light Special, and just as Sears, K Mart also relied on Celebrity Endorsements.

So Fear Not, Shoppers Of Sears And / Or K Mart! Target is probably a replacement store of K Mart for you. Also there is Walmart and Dollar General Market which are effective replacements for K Mart. Lowe's and Home Depot can replace Sears.

I will shop at Lowe's, Home Depot, Walmart, and some times Target be cause some times it has things that Walmart does not. Dollar General Market is silly but I might shop there some times. Sears K Mart is too much of a disorganized mess. When The Aisles Resemble Alleys, I will not feel safe shopping at either place.

If nobody wants Sears K Mart to go away, the Sears K Mart must be organized. Forget about Lowe's, Home Depot, Target, Dollar General Market, and Walmart for a moment. Sears K Mart will not survive even if there was no other competition. They are also closing many stores be cause they are disorganized. It is so bad, shopping at either place online is not recommended unless the entire businesses of Sears and K Mart are reorganized.

[roadman65]

Sears was a big giant at one time.  My uncle once told me that its not the times or the lack of customers to make or break a business, but the management.  If you have bad management, you have a not so profitable business.   Yes, Sears used to be big as far as location and reputation, but they dropped the ball when the times changed as the management did not move along with it.

I will miss the Sears of when I was a child, but not of today.    It's sad to see the store my mom took us as a child to in NJ close and have the building torn down for a new strip mall.  It was like an institution, but the new owner feels that putting up a new structure with a different design can be more profitable in the long run. 

I do, however, think that Sears got worse when the troubled Kmart acquired them.  A company that took a bailout should not be getting more assets as Kmart had previously filed for bankruptcy.  Its a shame Walmart could not have bought Sears, as they most likely would have made the Sears that are left much better than Sears Holdings has done recently.

I think we are at the end of an era and the institution we once knew as Sears and Kmart are history.  It's a shame, but all good things must go at some time and considering all, Sears is like a landmark as they once ruled and their catalogue was the number one out of store shopping before the internet.

[RobbieL2415]

I think it would be interesting if Amazon bought Sears/Kmart's assets, assumed and paid off its debt, and used the remaining store locations as Amazon stores.

[vdeane]

It's a shame, but all good things must go at some time

I think Q put it better:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-olnnGBJQV4

[Rothman]

It is too easy to just blame bad management.  Read up on disruption theory, where businesses like Sears get so good at what they do that they don't keep a bigger picture of what could threaten them due to advances in technology and other innovations.  There's a lot of fluff and probably TED talks devoted to it, but I don't know how a lot of brick and mortar stores expect to survive in the number that we have, even when management is aware of the broader picture.