News:

The AARoads Wiki is live! Come check it out!

Main Menu

More Kmart stores closing

Started by LM117, September 19, 2016, 06:00:32 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

inkyatari

Quote from: tchafe1978 on August 24, 2017, 04:34:38 PM
Why prolong the agony? Just close the whole chain now and be done with it. We all know it's inevitable anyways.

Exactly what I was thinking.
I'm never wrong, just wildly inaccurate.


steviep24

The two remaining Kmarts in the Rochester, NY area (810 Paul Road, Rochester (Chili), NY and 10 Cobblestone Court Drive, Victor, NY) are on the list. Both have Walmart and Target near them.

DJStephens

Quote from: roadiejay on August 04, 2017, 08:48:13 PM
I checked the store locator and found three stores I've frequented in the past to still be open:

Show Low, AZ: Deuce of Clubs Ave

Tucson, AZ: Broadway Road

Las Cruces, NM: Bataan Memorial Hwy

The ones in Show Low and Las Cruces are in good spots, where there isn't a walmart close by. The one in Tucson is located at a very busy intersection, although there's also a recently expanded Walmart Supercenter one mile down the street, along with several new walmarts on the eastern and southern outskirts that have been built in the last 3-5 years.... Then again, Tucson is very anti-walmart, so I think that particular K-Mart will be ok for a while.

The las Cruces store is closing Aug 31st   It was "walled" off by the US 70 overpass near it, although typical corporate bungling was more to blame for it's demise.   Had some good stuff in it, but it was never well patronized in recent years.   

thenetwork

Quote from: tchafe1978 on August 24, 2017, 04:34:38 PM
Why prolong the agony? Just close the whole chain now and be done with it. We all know it's inevitable anyways.

I wonder if this Christmas will be the last?  I can't see them going much longer.  The Sears and Sears Outlet stores in my town have no cars, other than their skeletal staffs, in their parking lots.  Their auto repair center was empty one midday, and yet these 2 stores keep missing the chopping block.  Anybody whose drinking Eddie Lampert's "We shall rise again" Kool-Aid deserve to lose their investments at this point.  Sam with the shareholders who don't vote him out of his position.

LM117

Quote from: thenetwork on August 24, 2017, 09:45:13 PMI wonder if this Christmas will be the last?  I can't see them going much longer.  The Sears and Sears Outlet stores in my town have no cars, other than their skeletal staffs, in their parking lots.  Their auto repair center was empty one midday, and yet these 2 stores keep missing the chopping block.  Anybody whose drinking Eddie Lampert's "We shall rise again" Kool-Aid deserve to lose their investments at this point.  Sam with the shareholders who don't vote him out of his position.

If they keep closing stores at the rate they're going, then it's a safe bet that this Christmas will be the last, IMO. I don't know how the hell the Kmart and Sears stores in my area keep dodging the bullet. They're both ghost towns. I doubt anybody would notice if, or should I say when, both stores close. Especially Kmart. That store is screaming to be put out of it's misery.
“I don’t know whether to wind my ass or scratch my watch!” - Jim Cornette

Urban Prairie Schooner

#455
Kmarts are getting thin on the ground in many places. There are only 4 left in all of Louisiana. The Shreveport, Lafayette, Monroe, Alexandria, Baton Rouge, and Houma MSAs are all Kmartfree.  I don't know how the remaining ones survive. In the long run their failure is assured - operating them is just burning up good capital that can be put to better use. Creative destruction and all that.

Also, the Jackson MS area is Searsfree as well as Kmartfree, as the last full line Sears store (Metrocenter Mall) closed some time ago.

For some reason, the Virgin Islands have several Kmarts but no Walmarts.

LM117

Eddie Lampert shells out $100 million.

https://www.bizjournals.com/chicago/news/2017/10/05/sears-ceo-loans-sears-cash-for-holidays.html#i1

QuoteSears CEO Eddie Lampert will shell out more than $100 million to keep Sears and Kmart stores operative during the holidays.

The head of the Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based retail chain loaned the money for "general corporate purposes,"  per the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The loans, from divisions of Lampert's ESL Investments, have an interest rate of 11 percent and are backed by the mortgages of select stores.

Lampert will also lend the company an additional $100 million between now and Dec. 1 if the organization requires it. In order to get access to the additional funds, Sears (NASDAQ: SHLD) would have to back the loans with additional real estate holdings.

The CEO has now loaned Sears $499.4 million. The existing loans come due April 3, while the new loan is due on July 20, 2020, per the filing.

Lampert is a hedge fund manager and Sears' biggest investor. As CEO he has promised to reduce the company's debt and pension obligations.

But the troubled department store has lost more than $10 billion in the past few years and weak earnings, causing executives to question the business' sustainability.

The company has been unable to adapt to online sales and competition from the likes of Wal-Mart and Target.

In March, the company said in its annual report filing that it had "substantial doubt"  that it could continue to operate.

The company has sold real estate and recently completed the sale of its Craftsman tool brand to Stanley Black & Decker for $900 million.

In August, the company announced it will shutter 28 Kmart stores in addition to the 180 Sears and Kmart locations that have already closed this year.
“I don’t know whether to wind my ass or scratch my watch!” - Jim Cornette

oscar

Kmart's Hawaii presence is now really thin too. I was disappointed to find that the only Kmart on Maui closed a few months after I last visited that island. That store was very close to the airport, and had the best selection of Maui beach towels (in about a dozen and a half colors) on the island. Instead of packing beach towels when I go to Maui, I would just buy a few at the Kmart on my way out of the airport, in colors I don't already have at home.

Next time, I'll have to see whether the local Wal-Mart or the new Target have expanded their selections to fill the void.
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
http://www.alaskaroads.com/home.html

hbelkins

In contrast, I recently encountered a Kmart that was thriving. The one at Elkview, WV recently reopened. You may remember that the single access to the shopping center there was washed out by flooding. They finally got the bridge replaced there and all the stores except Dollar Tree have reopened. I stopped there last week on my way back from the Columbus meet (yes, I came home through West Virginia) and the parking ot was well-filled. They could have used the flood as an excuse to close it, but they didn't, and it appeared to be doing good business when I was there.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

cl94

In related news, Sears Holdings is closing all remaining Canadian stores per the Toronto Star.
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

Travel Mapping (updated weekly)

thenetwork

Quote from: cl94 on October 10, 2017, 07:51:01 PM
In related news, Sears Holdings is closing all remaining Canadian stores per the Toronto Star.

Meanwhile, at least a few US Sears stores got the pink slip this week, according to various news sources:

-  Crossroads Center, St. Cloud MN
-  Oxmoor Center, Louisville, KY
-  Midtown, Houston, TX

Looks like this next round of liquidations begins October 28th, with full closures in January.  I wouldn't be surprised if there are more stores TBA this week.

LM117

Quote from: cl94 on October 10, 2017, 07:51:01 PM
In related news, Sears Holdings is closing all remaining Canadian stores per the Toronto Star.

A preview of what's to come in the US...
“I don’t know whether to wind my ass or scratch my watch!” - Jim Cornette

iowahighways

I've noticed that six of the nine remaining Kmarts in Iowa are in cities with less than 10,000 people that don't have a Walmart (per http://www.kmart.com/stores/iowa.html): Algona, Charles City, Cherokee, Oelwein, Red Oak, and Webster City.
The Iowa Highways Page: Now exclusively at www.iowahighways.org
The Iowa Highways Photo Gallery: www.flickr.com/photos/iowahighways/

cl94

Quote from: iowahighways on October 15, 2017, 01:16:09 PM
I've noticed that six of the nine remaining Kmarts in Iowa are in cities with less than 10,000 people that don't have a Walmart (per http://www.kmart.com/stores/iowa.html): Algona, Charles City, Cherokee, Oelwein, Red Oak, and Webster City.

That's the case in much of the Northeast. Most of New York's remaining locations are in small towns without a Walmart.
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

Travel Mapping (updated weekly)

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: iowahighways on October 15, 2017, 01:16:09 PM
I've noticed that six of the nine remaining Kmarts in Iowa are in cities with less than 10,000 people that don't have a Walmart (per http://www.kmart.com/stores/iowa.html): Algona, Charles City, Cherokee, Oelwein, Red Oak, and Webster City.

That's kind of how it is in California, usually Kmart is still around in the towns that don't have Walmart...Coalinga comes to mind.

jp the roadgeek

Quote from: iowahighways on October 15, 2017, 01:16:09 PM
I've noticed that six of the nine remaining Kmarts in Iowa are in cities with less than 10,000 people that don't have a Walmart (per http://www.kmart.com/stores/iowa.html): Algona, Charles City, Cherokee, Oelwein, Red Oak, and Webster City.

Two of the three remaining Kmarts in CT (Vernon, Watertown) are in towns without a Walmart or Target, although there is a Walmart and a Target about 7 minutes away from the Vernon store in Manchester.  Milford has all 3, but the Kmart is totally across town from the other two; Target is in CT Post Mall, and Walmart is a strip mall away from CT Post. 
Interstates I've clinched: 97, 290 (MA), 291 (CT), 291 (MA), 293, 295 (DE-NJ-PA), 295 (RI-MA), 384, 391, 395 (CT-MA), 395 (MD), 495 (DE), 610 (LA), 684, 691, 695 (MD), 695 (NY), 795 (MD)

TheArkansasRoadgeek

Damn, I can't remember the last (if ever) I was in a Kmart. Am I that old?
Well, that's just like your opinion man...

cl94

Quote from: TheArkansasRoadgeek on October 24, 2017, 04:00:09 PM
Damn, I can't remember the last (if ever) I was in a Kmart. Am I that old?

The last time I was in a Kmart was to take pictures back in June (it was one of the last Super Kmart Centers, downsized a few years ago). Time before then was the summer of 2015 when I was working at an MPO and needed somewhere to use the restroom when I was doing a traffic count in Niagara Falls. Time before that? Probably before 2010, so yeah...
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

Travel Mapping (updated weekly)

inkyatari

I don't know if this has been posted, but I think it nails it, mostly.

I'm never wrong, just wildly inaccurate.

thenetwork

I see Sears is reviving their Wish Book (Christmas Catalog) this year.  This *has* to be their swan song as they try to go out in a blaze of "glory". 

I was just in my local Sears store and, to put it bluntly, I've seen a better Men's clothing department at my local Goodwill.  Their selection was about 1/8th the size of the Men's department at the JCPenney on the other end of the mall.

LM117

Sears will no longer carry Whirpool products once the current inventory is sold.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2017/10/24/sears-stop-selling-whirlpool-appliances/793517001/

QuoteIf you are in the market for a new Whirlpool washer and dryer or Maytag dishwasher, don't expect Sears to be the place where America shops.

For the first time in more than a century, the troubled retailer will no longer sell appliances from Whirlpool, which also makes KitchenAid, Maytag and Jenn-Air products.

In a memo sent to stores last week, Sears told employees that Whirlpool made pricing demands "that would have prohibited us from offering Whirlpool products to our members at a reasonable price," the retailer said in a memo, a copy of which was sent to USA TODAY.

Sears will only sell what Whirlpool products are currently in inventory. The news hammered the stock prices of both companies. Sears shares fell more than 8% to close at $5.99 and Whirlpool was down almost 11% to $163.26.

Whirlpool CEO Marc Robert Bitzer said that the decision to pull the brand came in the spring.

"We did inform Sears in May that we would no longer supply Whirlpool branded products as we simply could not reach terms that are acceptable to both parties," Bitzer said Tuesday in a conference call with Wall Street analysts.

However, Bitzer said Whirlpool will continue to supply to Sears 10 appliances sold under the Kenmore brand.

Sears, founded in 1887 as Sears, Roebuck & Co., had sold Whirlpool appliances for more than a century.

Whirlpool has also made Kenmore dishwashers, washers and dryers and refrigerators. Sears declined to confirm which Kenmore appliances are produced by Whirlpool, but spokesman Howard Riefs said that "Whirlpool will continue to  supply the Kenmore products it makes for us.'' 

In addition to Kenmore appliances, Sears said in its memo the chain "will continue to make available top brands that members expect from us including LG, Samsung, GE, Frigidaire, Electrolux, and Bosch."

Still, the loss of the Whirlpool brand is another sign of how Sears, a one-time retail giant that was the go-to for home appliance purchases ranging from freezers to dryers, is no longer a dominant player.

"This move seems to be isolated to a dispute over pricing so is not linked to the company's financial woes,'' says Neil Saunders, managing director of the consultancy GlobalData Retail. "That said, it is another sign that Sears is becoming less relevant in the retail market and in that sense it is unwelcome news."

The partnership Sears and Whirlpool have through the Kenmore brand is likely to continue, says Matt Sargent, senior vice president of retail at Magid, a research-based consultancy.   

"Whirlpool works with them as a contract manufacturer on the Kenmore brand,'' Sargent says. "Obviously Whirlpool has to compete for that business ... I don't see that Whirlpool would choose to back away from that partnership.''

But more telling – and troubling – is that Whirlpool ultimately would not budge enough on prices to make sure its branded products would continue to be sold by the iconic retailer.

"Seeing that Whirlpool is OK backing away from Sears shows ... from a size perspective, they are no longer the dominant force they once were,'' Sargent says. While Walmart is a major player based on its sheer size, and chains such as Best Buy cater to more affluent consumers, Sears is struggling in the middle, he says.

"Sears has entered into that box of neither being big, nor serving the high end,'' he says. "If you're neither, it's very hard to continue.''

Sears has enacted several rounds of store closures this year in its struggle to stay in business. Facing growing competition from Amazon.com and other retailers such as Home Depot, Sears Holdings has said it would close more than 300 Sears or Kmart locations as part of its cost-cutting campaign. That would leave it with more than 1,200 stores.

In March, Sears rattled investors when it said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had "substantial doubt" about its ability to stay in business unless it could borrow more and wring cash from assets.

Earlier this year, the retailer initiated a restructuring program with the aim of cutting $1 billion in costs annually and reducing debt by $1.5 billion –it sold one of its most valuable brands, Craftsman, to Stanley Black & Decker as part of that initiative.
“I don’t know whether to wind my ass or scratch my watch!” - Jim Cornette

US71

Quote from: LM117 on October 28, 2017, 10:49:16 AM
Sears will no longer carry Whirpool products once the current inventory is sold.


Maybe Sears is going "Buy American" (Whirlpool is now made in Mexico)
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

thenetwork

#472
Quote from: US71 on October 28, 2017, 09:24:21 PM
Quote from: LM117 on October 28, 2017, 10:49:16 AM
Sears will no longer carry Whirpool products once the current inventory is sold.


Maybe Sears is going "Buy American" (Whirlpool is now made in Mexico)

Not quite accurate, as their washing machines are still made in their factory in Clyde, OH.

http://www.toledoblade.com/business/2017/03/19/Huge-Whirlpool-plant-runs-heart-of-Clyde.html

1995hoo

Quote from: US71 on October 28, 2017, 09:24:21 PM
Quote from: LM117 on October 28, 2017, 10:49:16 AM
Sears will no longer carry Whirpool products once the current inventory is sold.


Maybe Sears is going "Buy American" (Whirlpool is now made in Mexico)

"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

allniter89

Quote from: tchafe1978 on August 24, 2017, 04:34:38 PM
Why prolong the agony? Just close the whole chain now and be done with it. We all know it's inevitable anyways.

:hmmm:Maybe they're waiting for Trump to be impeached & then he'll buy K Mart/Sears & save the world. :-D

BUY AMERICAN MADE.
SPEED SAFELY.



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.