The Comcast building on I-55 in Jackson used to be a K-Mart Supercenter. After K-Mart closed in the early 2000s, it sat empty until Comcast opened in 2010.
There's a former Home Depot in south Jackson that is still shuttered. At one time, it was rumored that Magic Johnson was going to put a movie theater there, but it never came to fruition.
We're also awaiting the fate of the current Sam's Club in north Jackson. It was confirmed last year that they're moving into a new building in suburban Madison. The former mayor of Jackson, in his State of the City address last year, said he contacted and sent marketing materials to Costco to come in to replace Sam's. But he was defeated in his re-election bid, and I don't know if the current mayor will continue to pursue Costco or not.
There's an old Walmart at 71st and Riverside in Tulsa that is now some brand of church.
A former Circuit City building in Green Bay is now a WisDOT field office for the US 41 expansion project.
The Omaha 120th and L Street Sams Club was re-purposed as an auto dealership with a VERY large amount of inventory stored/displayed inside. Seems to be working quite well for them.
There's been a lot of 'repurposing' going on around north TX in recent years. Many chains have left, others downsized, still others moved.
Gone: CompUSA, Linens & Things, Circuit City, Winn-Dixie, Kmart, Borders, Home Depot Expo, Roomstore, The Great Indoors (not to mention department store chains gone)
Downsized/fewer stores: Barnes & Noble, ToysRUs, Best Buy, Conn's
Moved: some Barnes & Noble, some Sam's, some Michael's, some Bed Bath & Beyond
Wow, I could go on and on, but I guess we don't have all day, but you can only imagine the amount of transactions just the list above would have created. Anyway, here's a few:
* ToysRUs in north Dallas on US 75, now a Spec's (fast-growing TX liquor store chain, some, like this one, are an amazing size for a liquor store)
* The Great Indoors in Farmers Branch near the Galleria, now a portion is a Sears Outlet, the other part they're trying to lease out but have had no takers yet
* One Circuit City store in north Dallas was in 3 buildings before the chain folded; the first later was a Michael's but is now an Entertainmart; the second is now a Dick's Sporting Goods, the third is now a Best Buy (for now)
* A Winn-Dixie on Frankford in far north Dallas, is now split into 2 spaces, a 99-cent Only store, and an Aldi
* Home Depot Expo on the Tollway in north Dallas, is now split into 3 spaces, a moved Bed Bath & Beyond, a Buy Buy Baby, and initially a Christmas Tree Shop but now it's a Nordstrom Rack
* Circuit City on US 75 in north Dallas, is now a clinic/surgery center specializing in spinal issues (it's between 2 major hospitals)
* A Linens & Things on US 75 in north Dallas, is now a Total Wine & More (another fast-growing liquor store chain, they're from the east coast (MD?))
* A Borders east of US 75 in Dallas, was torn down and an LA Fitness was built on its old site
* A Borders west of US 75 near downtown, was split into 3 things, 2 restaurants took up the first floor, and a yoga studio moved in on the second floor
OK, you get the drift, wow I'm thirsty :coffee: :coffee:
I remember the first local Wal-marts in the Palm Springs area (Cathedral City and La Quinta) in the 1990s moved to newer "SuperCenter" stores in the mid 2000s (the Cathedral City store went to Palm Springs). They became Kohl's stores and they're not as productive like Wal-Mart was.
Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets are opening in my area: one in a former Toys R' Us in Palm Desert and in the former Albertson's in Coachella. Wal-Mart wants to expand in the grocery niche and compete against Ralph's (I happen to work with them) and other major grocery chains.
In Indio, Ralph's was in two sites: the first site became a major furniture store and the second site remains vacant after Ralph's bought (Skagg's) Alpha-Beta in the 90s, was moved to a new location in the mid 2000s. The former Palm Desert North Ralph's became an Albertson's which moved across the street to a new plaza and the old site became a Bristol Farms. And in Cathedral City, Ralph's shut down a few years ago and the building remains empty ever since.
And in my town Indio, CA: Lucky's closed and still vacant, Super-Saver become a Cardenas' a regional Mexican-themed grocery chain store, the former Sears in the fashion mall remains vacant, a Gottschalks went out of business nearby is still empty, and the JCpenney's is now a Food-4-Less which is owned by Kroger also owner of Ralph's.
Wal-Mart is notorious for abandoning a store to build in a location it thinks it can generate more business. All the surrounding businesses get left high and dry when the old store closes.
Quote from: Road Hog on February 08, 2014, 03:50:07 AM
Wal-Mart is notorious for abandoning a store to build in a location it thinks it can generate more business. All the surrounding businesses get left high and dry when the old store closes.
I've noticed that a lot of the recently-built Wal-Marts are no longer in multi-bay shopping plazas, but in bespoke architecture that (typically) only features their store. Many of them have absolutely nothing else on their property, while others might have the typical repertoire of cell phone stores, fast food, cleaners, et cetera surrounding the edges of their ginormous parking lot.
In Pompano Beach, Florida a Mercedes-Benz dealer used a former Sam's Club location for their operations. I can't tell the difference, and I've been through the site before and after. In the same plaza, the old Circuit City became a Land Rover dealer. It's unusual for high-end marques to do this sort of thing, but it's all about the location off I-95.
Well in Vallejo, CA during the 2008 Bankruptcy/ Real Estate crash the Mervyns on Sonoma Blvd(CA-29) @ Sereno Drive was closed and abandoned until 2013 when Wal-Mart Moved back to Vallejo. Wal-Mart was out of Vallejo (Sonoma BLVD/ CA_29 Expressway @ Meadows drive 1990's Location) for a few Years and moved to CA-29 Expressway in American Canyon in Napa Valley.
Also in Fairfield, CA Mervyns was converted to Forever 21 and the Sports Authority at the Solano Mall.
Circuit City in Fairfield, CA was converted into a Go-Kart place and K-mart in Fairfield CA became abandoned. So did Big lots in the same area.
K-Mart in Vallejo was demolished in 2003-2004 (Redwood @ Sonoma)
Colonial Heights, VA has two former Circuit City stores. The first location was abandoned when the second was built; it's now a Gold's Gym. The second is an HHGregg. There's also a former Nichols department store that's mostly unused but has a few small places carved into it.
Petersburg, VA has two former K-Marts that are no longer retail. One is a church and I can't remember if the other one is being used for anything.
In a few towns near me:
A Hechingers closed down, built a bigger store across the street. Best Buy moved in. That Hechingers closed when the company shut down. It became a Target.
An old, old shopping center that housed a supermarket, Ames (a large department store) and state offices was torn down after years of decay, and is now a Walmart.
A Pathmark became a Rickels, then an appliance store, then closed. The Caldors in the shopping center closed. That shopping center was almost 100% knocked down, and is now a very busy LA Fitness and medical offices.
My first place of employment - a bowling alley - is now a Planet Fitness. (Note: the LA Fitness & this Planet Fitness are about 1/2 mile away from each other. Both appear to be doing very well, judging by their parking lots).
There used to be a big KMart right here, decently popular too, until it closed down not too long ago:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmaps.googleapis.com%2Fmaps%2Fapi%2Fstreetview%3Fsize%3D600x600%26amp%3Blocation%3D40.52335%2C-74.628142%26amp%3Bheading%3D280%26amp%3Bfov%3D40%26amp%3Bsensor%3Dfalse&hash=8bd8c2f30621ba62b5677e870159b13d4f452075)
Now all that remains is just the building. No one has bought it out yet.
Also in Hillsborough, a BlockBuster shut down about 3-6 years ago, and a Hollywood Video closed down shortly there-after (I would blame Netflix, honestly).
In neighboring Bridgewater, a Circuit City closed down 4-6 years ago, presumably because Best Buy was getting more business than them.
Julia Christensen has made a project of this:
http://www.bigboxreuse.com/
There's a nice accompanying book from the MIT Press:
http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/big-box-reuse
In Platteville, WI, the old Walmart building was vacant for about 6 years after the new Supercenter was built, until Farm & Fleet moved from their old run-down building south of town. They remodeled the building nicely and added on their auto service center, but I can still walk through the store and remember where things used to be when it was still Walmart. The old Farm & Fleet building is now used as a warehouse for an agricultural supply and feed business.
In Gilroy, CA, the old Walmart next to the outlet mall has been converted into a giant showroom for RV sales.
In my area:
* CompUSA => Korean food court and mini-mall. We go there more frequently now than before
* Mervyns (like a low-end Macys) => split into TJ Maxx/HomeGoods/Party City
* Petsmart => Spirit Halloween (2 months/year); vacant (10 months)
What's interesting are the obscure shopping centers that long before my time obviously hosted some anchor stores, but time and trends passed them by.
Quote from: Zeffy on February 08, 2014, 10:32:45 AM
Also in Hillsborough, a BlockBuster shut down about 3-6 years ago, and a Hollywood Video closed down shortly there-after (I would blame Netflix, honestly).
There was a Hollywood Video store down the street from me, but it became a laundromat.
Quote from: Zeffy on February 08, 2014, 10:32:45 AM
In neighboring Bridgewater, a Circuit City closed down 4-6 years ago, presumably because Best Buy was getting more business than them.
All Circuit City locations are closed. They were a good store, but then made some very, very stupid decisions (replacing full timers that knew their stuff with part timers who didn't care was one reason).
Best Buy ain't doing all that well either now.
Westland, Michigan -- A building that housed a Circuit City and a Cost Plus is being converted into Westland's new city hall.
Denton, TX:
Old K-Mart: Torn down, new retail built on former site about 9 years later
Old Home Depot: Torn down, replaced with apartments and Taco Bell. Home Depot Moved to LOOP 288 commercial area.
Old Wal-Mart- now Hobby Lobby
Old Kroger, now a gym.
Old Target: became Circuit City for a very short time until the chain shut down; now a Conn's Appliances
Flower Mound, TX:
old Albertson's, now a busy church.
Lewisville, TX:
old Wal-Mart: Might be empty. A few stores occupied it for a period of time after Wal-Mart moved out
old Target: Target moved out after less than 10 years to a larger location in the same area, became a sporting goods store and a dollar store.
In my area a Safeway became a BiMart while an Albertson's became a Big Lots. Still to be seen is what happens to the now closed K-Mart and a largish lot with building that had the Nissan dealer. The only constant is change...LOL!
Rick
Quote from: jeffandnicole on February 08, 2014, 03:21:47 PM
Best Buy ain't doing all that well either now.
Glad to hear it. I'd love to see that chain fail. I've gone in there a few times, and every experience I've had with them I wished I'd shopped elsewhere. Unhelpful and unknowledgeable employees that would rather talk among themselves or play with their phones than serve customers. I've even seen a few employees who moved quickly in the opposite direction once they saw a customer who was looking for help from an employee.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on February 08, 2014, 03:21:47 PM
Quote from: Zeffy on February 08, 2014, 10:32:45 AM
In neighboring Bridgewater, a Circuit City closed down 4-6 years ago, presumably because Best Buy was getting more business than them.
All Circuit City locations are closed. They were a good store, but then made some very, very stupid decisions (replacing full timers that knew their stuff with part timers who didn't care was one reason).
Best Buy ain't doing all that well either now.
[rant] I must have gone to Circuit Citys in the wrong locations...employees talked to customers like they were complete morons (although some truly are) and would swarm on you like a used car salesman the second you walk in the door (similar to experiences at Sears and Best Buy). I didn't shed any tears when they closed up. Won't shed any if/when Sears and Best Buy go. Can't remember the last time I bought anything at Best Buy...great place to go look at stuff in person before you buy it just about anyplace else much cheaper. Don't go looking to get any questions answered; you can't find anyone when you need 'em and if you are able to corner one, they're clueless about anything other than what level of CandyCrush they're on. Sears, the employees are about as useless as their Best Buy counterparts, but far more rude. [/rant]
Back on topic:
Prange Way -> split: Staples and Hobby Lobby, Oshkosh, WI
Kmart -> Home Depot (now also closed as well), Fond du Lac, WI
Toys R Us -> split: PetSmart and Dollar Tree, Fond du Lac, WI
Prange Way -> Sears, Fond du Lac, WI
Kmart -> Sears Grand -> split: Sendiks grocery store and two smaller stores, West Bend, WI
Sentry foods -> Hobby Lobby, West Bend, WI
Children's Palace -> Dunham's Sports, Brown Deer, WI
Walmart -> JCPenny, Beaver Dam, WI
Kmart (NE) -> Hyvee grocery, Madison, WI
Kmart (W) -> Burlington Coat Factory, Madison, WI
Circuit City -> Pawn America, Madison, WI
Borders -> UW Credit Union, Madison/Shorewood Hills, WI
Pick n Save and Walmart (both demolished) -> Walmart supercenter, Sun Prairie, WI
Kmart (demolished) -> Walmart supercenter, Monona, WI
I attempted to submit some locations that I know of to the bigboxreuse.com site, but my email bounced. :-(
Here in Ft Smith, K-mart is now Hanks Furniture and Hanks Furniture Outlet.
K-mart in Fayetteville, AR is now Hobby Lobby, Office Depot, and Tuesday Morning.
Quote from: US71 on February 09, 2014, 10:20:42 PM
Here in Ft Smith, K-mart is now Hanks Furniture and Hanks Furniture Outlet.
On AR 22 or US 71B/AR 255?
I liked Circuit City because of their CD selection. It wasn't unusual to find import singles of some of the bands that I like and I bought a lot of them from there. Today, CDs have been replaced by mp3s so it doesn't matter, but it did in the '90s.
Quote from: Takumi on February 08, 2014, 09:08:20 AM
Colonial Heights, VA has two former Circuit City stores. The first location was abandoned when the second was built; it's now a Gold's Gym. The second is an HHGregg. There's also a former Nichols department store that's mostly unused but has a few small places carved into it.
Petersburg, VA has two former K-Marts that are no longer retail. One is a church and I can't remember if the other one is being used for anything.
Most of the old Circuit City locations I know of here in Northern Virginia are now HH Gregg stores, although at least one (the one behind Tysons Corner Center) was demolished to make way for the high-rise office building that's now under construction.
In Orlando we have one Circuit City on Orange Blossom Trail that is vacant except during October when there is a seasonal Halloween Store that uses its site. Apparently Orlando has too damn many strip malls and not enough tenants to occupy them, so its hard to get a year round tenant in this location. Plus OBT has a bad rap anyway do to its roach motels, ghetto surroundings, and other problems that do not help.
In Kissimmee Circuit City put up a brand new store when they were going bankrupt (shows you how smart their management was) that closed just weeks after opening, is now TJ Max. Of course this is a better area and newer facility as many companies and family merchants will always go for that over old and existing malls anyway.
Quote from: roadman65 on February 10, 2014, 10:53:04 AM
In Orlando we have one Circuit City on Orange Blossom Trail that is vacant except during October when there is a seasonal Halloween Store that uses its site.
We have an old Barnes & Nobles store that does that also houses a seasonal Halloween store.
Across the street from where my mom works, there was an old Belk department store that closed in the mid-2000s. On occassion, some company rents it for a three-day electronics sale (the ones that will sell you a latop for $50, etc.).
Quote from: bugo on February 10, 2014, 10:26:03 AM
Quote from: US71 on February 09, 2014, 10:20:42 PM
Here in Ft Smith, K-mart is now Hanks Furniture and Hanks Furniture Outlet.
On AR 22 or US 71B/AR 255?
Rogers Ave/ AR 22.
Zero St has been gone since before I moved here. It's a Sutherlands.
I have lots of fond memories of the K-Mart on what was then US 71/AR 255/Zero. We would drive up from Mena to go shopping and K-Mart was one of the places we always stopped. It was open at least as late as 1990.
Quote from: bugo on February 10, 2014, 10:26:52 AM
I liked Circuit City because of their CD selection. It wasn't unusual to find import singles of some of the bands that I like and I bought a lot of them from there. Today, CDs have been replaced by mp3s so it doesn't matter, but it did in the '90s.
Me too...At one point (I want to say 1995) they'd sold every album (including some 2-disc sets) for $10 or less. When many CD stores were selling used discs for $8, it was a great deal and a really selection and variety. Sometime in 1998 or so, they'd replaced almost all their musical offerings with DVDs, so that was the end of that. Blockbuster Music was the only one that could top their selection, and the "try before you buy" technique which was also pretty good...and they disappeared around that time too.
Speaking of which, a couple of the Blockbuster Musics were pretty Big Boxes themselves, two in South Florida became Party Citys, from what I recall.
Most of the K-Marts in South Florida still lay vacant. There's always been tons of vacant retail space in South Florida in
any economy; half-empty retail shoppes, mini-malls, and strip malls are everywhere. Throw in a few dead malls to boot. How any firm gets funding for another new shopping concept is beyond me, unless it's at least five miles from anything.
Well remember "The Good Guys" It was a Best Buy type store in Solano County and Sacramento County in California But the one in Fairfield became a Trader Joe and a Wedding shop. I know that there used to be a Service Merchandise (Big Box Store) in Vallejo, CA in the 1990's before that became Century Theaters complex.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Merchandise (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Merchandise)
www.servicemerchandise.com (http://www.servicemerchandise.com) is now an ebay type operation.
Also There used to be a homebase in Vallejo, CA it was a Home Depot type operation for California but its been split into several stores Bed Bath & beyond, Michaels, Cost Plus, Old Navy and Toys R' US for the past 20 years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Base (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Base)
Anybody remember Montgomery Ward and Robinsons May.
Montgomery Ward was a big box in some parts of the USA before they went Bankrupt in the 1990's. Robinsons May was a group of Stores in the Los Angeles area before they were defunct after the Northridge Quake. Yet the Robinsons Stores brand is still in use in the Philippines.
www.robinsonsmalls.com/malls_manila.php/
Now Old Navy is abandoned in Vacaville,CA and I just went there last weekend.
Quote from: bing101 on February 10, 2014, 04:13:06 PM
I know that there used to be a Service Merchandise (Big Box Store) in Vallejo, CA in the 1990's before that became Century Theaters complex.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Merchandise (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Merchandise)
www.servicemerchandise.com (http://www.servicemerchandise.com) is now an ebay type operation.
Anybody remember Montgomery Ward and Robinsons May.
Before we had Walmart and Best Buy, we had Montgomery Ward and Service Merchandise. (In the same mall, in fact. The Service Merchandise section is still empty, and the Montgomery Ward section was demolished to make room for a Home Depot.)
Building 19, a New England store that sold merchandise liquidated or abandoned by other companies, tended to occupy spaces abandoned by other stores as well. It was the ultimate scavenger operation. In the Assembly Square, (Somerville, Mass.) store, the interior walkways and appointments from the Jordan Marsh department store previously there remained until Building 19 left. Same with their operation in the former Spag's (RIP) in Shrewsbury.
I always wondered why an empty big box store has never been repurposed as a shelter of some kind. Any of them could hold thousands of cots.
Omaha has an animal shelter in an old (larger) grocery store, but even that kind of recycling seems rare.
We once had a big box store on Orange Blossom Trail and Holden Avenue that got split up into smaller stores. Many that remained vacated for years as the store that was once there was long gone before I moved to FL in 1990. What is was, I could not tell you, but I think it was a Zayre which is along with Ames, Jamesway, etc. in that type of store.
I do know that Ames did exist on Orange Avenue where Sodo is now developed near ORMC. The building stood vacant until the bulldozers came in back in 2008 to create Sodo. Ames closed back in 1990, so do the math.
Sedanos in Kissimmee, FL was either a Zayre or an Ames, I cannot remember which. It is located at the corner of US 192 and John Young Parkway, and for years in between it was an Albertsons. I think for a few years it sat vacant, before the push for Albertsons to expand that eventually did not last as the company closed up soon after the attempt to better themselves.
http://articles.latimes.com/1996-10-08/business/fi-51545_1_shopping-season (http://articles.latimes.com/1996-10-08/business/fi-51545_1_shopping-season)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_Products (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_Products)
Some Parts of the country once had best stores and they were the Amazon type operation of their time.
But then again the Big Box Stores of today are on an app such as Ebay and Amazon.com
Quote from: roadman65 on February 11, 2014, 01:15:46 PM...the push for Albertsons to expand that eventually did not last as the company closed up soon after the attempt to better themselves.
Publix Supermarkets bought many of the their sites in Florida.
In some cases, they migrated their older, smaller locations into Albertson's bigger store footprints (some of which were older still).
Quote from: signalman on February 09, 2014, 06:30:24 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on February 08, 2014, 03:21:47 PM
Best Buy ain't doing all that well either now.
Glad to hear it. I'd love to see that chain fail. I've gone in there a few times, and every experience I've had with them I wished I'd shopped elsewhere. Unhelpful and unknowledgeable employees that would rather talk among themselves or play with their phones than serve customers. I've even seen a few employees who moved quickly in the opposite direction once they saw a customer who was looking for help from an employee.
Huh, I've had the opposite experience at Best Buys... what tends to turn me off is excessive prices. Last one I stopped in was absolutely crappy though (tiny selection, insistence that I couldn't get what I was looking for and
what was advertised), but the East Hanover one has been good. National retailers have no excuse for inconsistency between stores.
We turned our old Wal-Mart into a rec center and waterpark.
Quote from: Alps on February 11, 2014, 09:08:03 PM
Quote from: signalman on February 09, 2014, 06:30:24 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on February 08, 2014, 03:21:47 PM
Best Buy ain't doing all that well either now.
Glad to hear it. I'd love to see that chain fail. I've gone in there a few times, and every experience I've had with them I wished I'd shopped elsewhere. Unhelpful and unknowledgeable employees that would rather talk among themselves or play with their phones than serve customers. I've even seen a few employees who moved quickly in the opposite direction once they saw a customer who was looking for help from an employee.
Huh, I've had the opposite experience at Best Buys... what tends to turn me off is excessive prices. Last one I stopped in was absolutely crappy though (tiny selection, insistence that I couldn't get what I was looking for and what was advertised), but the East Hanover one has been good. National retailers have no excuse for inconsistency between stores.
I've only ever been in the Rockaway store. The help there sucks. Nice to hear that East Hanover is better in that regard. Their prices are indeed a bit high, and I don't care for that either. However, I'd be willing to pay more if I could get quality help and advice. At least then I could justify spending the extra money. Rockaway has pissed me off so bad that I refuse to go back to that store for anything; even if they did have a great sale. I also agree that the inconsistencies among stores should not be.
Quote from: signalman on February 12, 2014, 03:05:14 AM
I've only ever been in the Rockaway store. The help there sucks. Nice to hear that East Hanover is better in that regard. Their prices are indeed a bit high, and I don't care for that either. However, I'd be willing to pay more if I could get quality help and advice. At least then I could justify spending the extra money. Rockaway has pissed me off so bad that I refuse to go back to that store for anything; even if they did have a great sale. I also agree that the inconsistencies among stores should not be.
The Bridgewater Best Buy had very helpful employees when I went there a month ago looking for a TV stand. The customer service was excellent.
Some of the most well-known former stores that are either defunct or close to defunct: Caldor, K-Mart, Ames, Shaw's, A&P, Circuit City
Many of the former Caldors either became Walmart, Kohl's. One became a Stew Leonard's and another became Price Rite
2 former K-Marts became Price Chopper. Another was renovated into a movie theater, and the Super K that replaced it became Super Walmart, with the former Walmart now a Lowe's. Another is now a CarMax.
Some of the Ames became Ocean State Job Lot. The one in my town is now a Bob's Discount Furniture and Bed Bath and Beyond. Some are still vacant.
Most Shaw's became either Stop & Shop, or Big Y. One in my town is a Shop Rite, and another one became a Walmart Neighborhood Market.
Many A&Ps are still vacant, with the one in my town now subdivided into a liquor store, lighting store, and Namco.
Most Circuit Citys, many of which replaced Nobody Beats the Wiz, became PC Richard stores.
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on February 12, 2014, 10:57:33 PM
Some of the most well-known former stores that are either defunct or close to defunct: Caldor, K-Mart, Ames, Shaw's, A&P, Circuit City
Many of the former Caldors either became Walmart, Kohl's. One became a Stew Leonard's and another became Price Rite
2 former K-Marts became Price Chopper. Another was renovated into a movie theater, and the Super K that replaced it became Super Walmart, with the former Walmart now a Lowe's. Another is now a CarMax.
Some of the Ames became Ocean State Job Lot. The one in my town is now a Bob's Discount Furniture and Bed Bath and Beyond. Some are still vacant.
Most Shaw's became either Stop & Shop, or Big Y. One in my town is a Shop Rite, and another one became a Walmart Neighborhood Market.
Many A&Ps are still vacant, with the one in my town now subdivided into a liquor store, lighting store, and Namco.
Most Circuit Citys, many of which replaced Nobody Beats the Wiz, became PC Richard stores.
PC Richard is a local chain centered on Greater New York, much smaller than Circuit City -- most Circuit City stores did not become PC Richard.
Shaw's has had heavy market erosion from Price Chopper and Market Basket (and to some degree ShopRite, though Shaw's never had a huge presence in their overlap Connecticut) but I wouldn't call them "close to defunct" just yet. They've redone many stores around here and are at least more enticing in quality and price than they have been for many years. Not sure about the bottom line. They've been passed between too many large owners to maintain a steady long-term vision.
I'm waiting for the day regional discount powerhouses ShopRite and Market Basket meet and do battle -- the former on stellar sales, the latter on everyday low prices. They are currently less than 40 miles apart, and growing closer with each new expansion.
Quote from: Pete from Boston on February 11, 2014, 12:37:44 PM
Building 19, a New England store that sold merchandise liquidated or abandoned by other companies, tended to occupy spaces abandoned by other stores as well. It was the ultimate scavenger operation. In the Assembly Square, (Somerville, Mass.) store, the interior walkways and appointments from the Jordan Marsh department store previously there remained until Building 19 left. Same with their operation in the former Spag's (RIP) in Shrewsbury.
A former Building 19 in Cumberland, RI occupied one floor of the old mill building that housed the original Ann & Hope department store. For those interested in retail and unfamiliar with Ann & Hope, it is said that Sam Walton got the idea for Wal-Mart from visiting Ann & Hope.
The Building 19 in Norwood, MA is now occupied by a rug store run by the tattered remains of the Building 19 chain. I've heard rumors that Market Basket is going to open a store in either Weymouth, MA or Hanover, MA at the site of a former Building 19. (I'm rooting for Weymouth) The Weymouth Bldg 19 was a former Ames store.
Quote from: Alps on February 11, 2014, 09:08:03 PM
National retailers have no excuse for inconsistency between stores.
Corporate is limited in its ability in what it can influence. The policies, prices, products, and building can all be identical from store to store, but each store is going to be managed by a different store manager, and that is what influences how good the service is in any store. (Bad manager that creates a crappy work environment means the brightest people will leave for greener pastures and everyone else will end up getting lazy and stop giving a shit over time.) The only way to guarantee this can't happen is to clone the management and employees. Barring that, corporate needs to ensure they hire the best managers possible...
In BR several former grocery store locations have been reused as self-storage facilities. Not enough grocery chains exist anymore to fill these old strip mall anchors (and even if there were, Walmart would presumably eat their lunch anyway) so I guess it was the logical thing to do.
Quote from: Urban Prairie Schooner on February 13, 2014, 08:38:03 AM
In BR several former grocery store locations have been reused as self-storage facilities. Not enough grocery chains exist anymore to fill these old strip mall anchors (and even if there were, Walmart would presumably eat their lunch anyway) so I guess it was the logical thing to do.
Lafayette used to have a big-box marketplace that they named Bridge Market. It had a large covered bridge at the entrance. The market closed, and they converted it to a storage facility named "Bridge Storage." Then a hurricane knocked down the bridge, but the facility is still in business as Bridge Storage.
Quote from: spooky on February 13, 2014, 07:26:17 AM
A former Building 19 in Cumberland, RI occupied one floor of the old mill building that housed the original Ann & Hope department store. For those interested in retail and unfamiliar with Ann & Hope, it is said that Sam Walton got the idea for Wal-Mart from visiting Ann & Hope.
I think Ann & Hope is still around in the northeast.
it certainly was around in 1986: when I was first learning English, I know that "Ann and Hope" was one of those expressions I just couldn't wrap my head around. I didn't realize until later that hope wasn't just an abstract concept, but also
someone's name.
My uncle who was big into retail as he was a former salesman for a few local and regional chain stores before he retired told me this: "Stores go out of business not because of lack of sales, but because of bad management!" If you look at Wal Mart doing what a small NJ chain once tried to do you can see that.
Two Guys, a former Newark, NJ based chain, did everything Walmart is doing now back in the 70's, but failed miserably and was forced to vacate the retail industry in favor of becoming a real estate company. Yet, Walmart is doing so well these days with their super stores carrying everything including groceries. Two Guys was that way except in some locations the auto, gardening, and even lumber/ hardware departments in separate buildings outside the stores or with separate entrances like the Union, NJ location having its auto department in the same building as the main store, but accessible only from another entrance outside. However, that principle was applied with Two Guys that Walmart has now, but one is still existing while the other is defunct. Need I say more.
Back to main discussion, Best Buy I always found to be good even though you had to chase down a sales associate to ask a simple question. Always had great products and in the days of CDs their selection was totally unbeatable! Circuit City I cannot vouch for as I never was a patron of theirs, as well as many, but from what I see lately it seems to support what Uncle Henry once told me.
Tops was another one that was around that started to be a big box chain as he went from one location in Edison, NJ to about seven around NYC area before filing for his papers. He was great on prices, but sometimes that can run you into trouble in the business world.
Oh and yes, no one even mentioned Crazy Eddie, a defunct chain in the NYC area with announcer Jerry Carol and his "insane" commercials. They were big and closed abruptly in the late 90's, but their stores were small and many divvied up into smaller stores or locations flattened for something else.
Quote from: roadman65 on February 13, 2014, 09:48:15 AM
Two Guys, a former Newark, NJ based chain, did everything Walmart is doing now back in the 70's, but failed miserably and was forced to vacate the retail industry in favor of becoming a real estate company. Yet, Walmart is doing so well these days with their super stores carrying everything including groceries. Two Guys was that way except in some locations the auto, gardening, and even lumber/ hardware departments in separate buildings outside the stores or with separate entrances like the Union, NJ location having its auto department in the same building as the main store, but accessible only from another entrance outside. However, that principle was applied with Two Guys that Walmart has now, but one is still existing while the other is defunct. Need I say more.
actually, yes. this paragraph made no sense.
"these guys did A and failed! those guys did A and succeeded! this makes perfect sense and I don't need to further explain!"
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 13, 2014, 09:51:02 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on February 13, 2014, 09:48:15 AM
Two Guys, a former Newark, NJ based chain, did everything Walmart is doing now back in the 70's, but failed miserably and was forced to vacate the retail industry in favor of becoming a real estate company. Yet, Walmart is doing so well these days with their super stores carrying everything including groceries. Two Guys was that way except in some locations the auto, gardening, and even lumber/ hardware departments in separate buildings outside the stores or with separate entrances like the Union, NJ location having its auto department in the same building as the main store, but accessible only from another entrance outside. However, that principle was applied with Two Guys that Walmart has now, but one is still existing while the other is defunct. Need I say more.
actually, yes. this paragraph made no sense.
"these guys did A and failed! those guys did A and succeeded! this makes perfect sense and I don't need to further explain!"
Well I cannot make it any clearer, but if you want me to talk kindergarden to you I will.
Walmart succeeded at what Two Guys failed to do! Proving my uncle's point that its because bad of management that is why the stores are failing! It is quite clear my original post.
Quote from: roadman65 on February 13, 2014, 10:22:30 AMWell I cannot make it any clearer, but if you want me to talk kindergarden to you I will.
Walmart succeeded at what Two Guys failed to do! Proving my uncle's point that its because bad of management that is why the stores are failing! It is quite clear my original post.
no, that really doesn't make any sense! because part of "management" is figuring out how to lay out the store! so you've got two identical experiments! yielding different results! and you're trying to draw conclusions! and somehow ended up with circular reasoning! uncle! kindergarten! how many exclamation points would Jesus use!
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 13, 2014, 09:31:40 AM
Quote from: spooky on February 13, 2014, 07:26:17 AM
A former Building 19 in Cumberland, RI occupied one floor of the old mill building that housed the original Ann & Hope department store. For those interested in retail and unfamiliar with Ann & Hope, it is said that Sam Walton got the idea for Wal-Mart from visiting Ann & Hope.
I think Ann & Hope is still around in the northeast.
it certainly was around in 1986: when I was first learning English, I know that "Ann and Hope" was one of those expressions I just couldn't wrap my head around. I didn't realize until later that hope wasn't just an abstract concept, but also someone's name.
I count 12 Ann and Hope "Curtain and Bath Outlet" locations on the web. The two in RI were former Ann and Hope discount stores according to their website. One location in Warwick on Post Road (US 1) is fairly close to the TF Green State Airport and is still signed as an Ann and Hope - that was a treat to discover!
In Chillicothe, OH, an old Harts store was converted into the Ross County Service Center building on Western Avenue
Quote from: Urban Prairie Schooner on February 13, 2014, 11:27:06 AM
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 13, 2014, 09:31:40 AM
Quote from: spooky on February 13, 2014, 07:26:17 AM
A former Building 19 in Cumberland, RI occupied one floor of the old mill building that housed the original Ann & Hope department store. For those interested in retail and unfamiliar with Ann & Hope, it is said that Sam Walton got the idea for Wal-Mart from visiting Ann & Hope.
I think Ann & Hope is still around in the northeast.
it certainly was around in 1986: when I was first learning English, I know that "Ann and Hope" was one of those expressions I just couldn't wrap my head around. I didn't realize until later that hope wasn't just an abstract concept, but also someone's name.
I count 12 Ann and Hope "Curtain and Bath Outlet" locations on the web. The two in RI were former Ann and Hope discount stores according to their website. One location in Warwick on Post Road (US 1) is fairly close to the TF Green State Airport and is still signed as an Ann and Hope - that was a treat to discover!
Correct, the Warwick location by the airport and the aforementioned Cumberland location now house Ann & Hope Curtain and Bath Outlets. The department stores closed sometime in the late 90s/early 00s.
In Florence:
Walmart left a location at Houston Road and Spiral Drive in 2005, to move roughly half a mile up Houston Road. The old Walmart then split into several stores: A Half Price Books, a Michael's art store, and a Babies R Us store.
Further north on Houston Road, a Biggs Hypermarket (which was a grocery store) became a Garden Ridge store.
Down along Mall Road, Circuit City is now a Phantom Fireworks store.
In that same area, a former Old Time Pottery became a church.
There was at one time an...ahem...Gentlemen's club along Tanners Lane. That has since become a church and a law office.
Here's a great article on the poison Ames bought in Zayre:
http://www.yake.com/article_shrinkage.html
Two Guys, on the other hand, shouldn't simply be regarded as a retail failure, since it is a multi-billion-dollar success.
It merged with one of its vendors, adopted its name (Vornado), liquidated its retail assets, and developed them into a real estate empire. Most other retail discounters of its era are just gone. With better management, how much longer would Two Guys have lasted? Ten years? Fifteen?
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 13, 2014, 10:33:03 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on February 13, 2014, 10:22:30 AMWell I cannot make it any clearer, but if you want me to talk kindergarden to you I will.
Walmart succeeded at what Two Guys failed to do! Proving my uncle's point that its because bad of management that is why the stores are failing! It is quite clear my original post.
no, that really doesn't make any sense! because part of "management" is figuring out how to lay out the store! so you've got two identical experiments! yielding different results! and you're trying to draw conclusions! and somehow ended up with circular reasoning! uncle! kindergarten! how many exclamation points would Jesus use!
I wouldn't say that store layout is "management". While that is done by corporate, I believe "retail store design" is more of a science that is practiced by people with specific training. There was one such guy, who worked for Walgreens, participating in the Chicago road meet in 2008; I got a business card from him and his title was "Store Designer" or something like that. That sort of decision is carried out at headquarters; manager of store #356 doesn't have the authority to make his employees swap the cat food and bread aisles at his leisure.
I think what he is trying to get at is that Two Guys and Walmart had substantially similar business models, but because Walmart's people made better decisions, they thrived in retail while Two Guys failed.
Quote from: Scott5114 on February 13, 2014, 11:04:48 PM
I wouldn't say that store layout is "management". While that is done by corporate, I believe "retail store design" is more of a science that is practiced by people with specific training. There was one such guy, who worked for Walgreens, participating in the Chicago road meet in 2008; I got a business card from him and his title was "Store Designer" or something like that. That sort of decision is carried out at headquarters; manager of store #356 doesn't have the authority to make his employees swap the cat food and bread aisles at his leisure.
I think what he is trying to get at is that Two Guys and Walmart had substantially similar business models, but because Walmart's people made better decisions, they thrived in retail while Two Guys failed.
fair enough. thank you for writing that in coherent English, without a single need to yell at me.
good point on store layouts being nearly identical all over. Fresh N Easy is one store where I've seen every instance be identical - with the exception that some are mirror-image reversed. must just be a way to handle the store space's front door being at a particular position along the front wall.
My local TESCOs puts up Christmas decorations in early October, for a week, before taking them down until mid-November ish. This is because even that is something closely regulated by the company, and the October airing is to show other managers how to do it (and a bit of beta testing).
They did do a consultation about 2 years ago, and changed the floor design (swapped fruit/veg and clothes, plus where stuff was in the entire refrigeration department), and it seems like various big TESCOs have had that done as they have stopped being the same. Part of that is different features, part is the lack of uniformity of store size and shape.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 14, 2014, 09:30:22 AM
....
good point on store layouts being nearly identical all over. Fresh N Easy is one store where I've seen every instance be identical - with the exception that some are mirror-image reversed. must just be a way to handle the store space's front door being at a particular position along the front wall.
The funny thing is, I feel like hardware stores are often an exception to this. The long-defunct Hechinger's chain (part of the Haft family saga, I believe) was a nuisance because no two stores were ever laid out the same way. The fact that you knew where to find, say, light bulbs in one store was completely irrelevant if you visited another of their stores. I find many Home Depot stores seem to suffer from the same problem but to a lesser degree. Of course I know there are always bound to be some variations due to the shape of a particular lot dictating adjustments to the building, but generally you expect that sort of thing to be relatively minor. Yet at Home Depot stores I often find there's not a lot of consistency from one to another.
Home Depot is maddening because their inconsistency is more subtle. generally, you have the home-electric section on one end, and the garden stuff on the other... and in between there: paint, hardware, and lumber are placed generally randomly, with hardware (tools subdivision) placed close to hardware (nuts and bolts subdivision).
(those are the sections I go to most often. I cannot speak for where the display toilets are... the functioning bathrooms themselves are located fairly randomly.)
also, their checkout counters are located nowhere near the facade that says HOME DEPOT so good luck figuring out where to park when you get there, to minimize hauling your shiny new toilet-drill-plank.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 14, 2014, 10:46:42 AM
Home Depot is maddening because their inconsistency is more subtle. generally, you have the home-electric section on one end, and the garden stuff on the other... and in between there: paint, hardware, and lumber are placed generally randomly, with hardware (tools subdivision) placed close to hardware (nuts and bolts subdivision).
(those are the sections I go to most often. I cannot speak for where the display toilets are... the functioning bathrooms themselves are located fairly randomly.)
also, their checkout counters are located nowhere near the facade that says HOME DEPOT so good luck figuring out where to park when you get there, to minimize hauling your shiny new toilet-drill-plank.
Maybe Home Depot is maddening because my view of their inconsistency differs from your version of inconsistency.
I'm used to the following layout: Garden area on one far end (but generally near the main entrance); Lumber area on the other far end (usually far away from the main entrance).
As you walk in, off to the side are aisles stacked side to side, rather than front to back. Generally, the closest section has seasonal stuff. But the further back you go, the items will vary from store to store. Sometimes just a few aisles difference; other times they're in completely different parts of the store.
Lowes isn't much different.
I generally go to Lowes more than HD mostly because of the 5% discount Lowes offers by using their credit card.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on February 14, 2014, 10:46:42 AM
Home Depot is maddening because their inconsistency is more subtle. generally, you have the home-electric section on one end, and the garden stuff on the other... and in between there: paint, hardware, and lumber are placed generally randomly, with hardware (tools subdivision) placed close to hardware (nuts and bolts subdivision).
(those are the sections I go to most often. I cannot speak for where the display toilets are... the functioning bathrooms themselves are located fairly randomly.)
also, their checkout counters are located nowhere near the facade that says HOME DEPOT so good luck figuring out where to park when you get there, to minimize hauling your shiny new toilet-drill-plank.
Home Depot is consistently inconsistent in this regard. Menards, on the other hand, is very consistent in store design. The biggest differences when going from one Menards to another is that they may be flipped the other way (mirror image).
Quotegood point on store layouts being nearly identical all over.
This may depend on the chain. I can walk into three different Price Chopper's in Vermont (Berlin, Morrisville, St. J) and see three VERY different layouts.
As for former big-box examples, a somewhat unique one that hasn't been mentioned yet: a former K-Mart in Austin, MN is now the SPAM Museum.
CVS has been inconsistent over the years with its store layouts. The three I work at all have different layouts, although my regular store is newer than the other two. Even newer stores of the same size have different layouts.
Walgreens I have found too are laid out the same inside with some being mirrored images and of course the pharmacy counter are different. Some face the front while some face the side.
Cracker Barrel Stores are all laid out pretty much with the gift shop on the right and the restaurant to the left, and all have the restrooms directly across from the main entrance with the traffic signal pointing the way. One place in Georgia was mirrored imaged where the store was on the left and the dining room on the right. I imagine that there are a few like that, but still keeping the overall design.
Quote from: roadman65 on February 15, 2014, 12:44:48 PM
Walgreens I have found too are laid out the same inside with some being mirrored images and of course the pharmacy counter are different. Some face the front while some face the side.
Cracker Barrel Stores are all laid out pretty much with the gift shop on the right and the restaurant to the left, and all have the restrooms directly across from the main entrance with the traffic signal pointing the way. One place in Georgia was mirrored imaged where the store was on the left and the dining room on the right. I imagine that there are a few like that, but still keeping the overall design.
I've been to enough Cracker Barrels to know that the men's room is almost always on the left. I have found at least one, if not two, instances where the men's room was on the right. Fortunately, I always look before I leap.
In a case of "double repurposing", the Mervyns' store in Madison Hts, MI, became a Circuit City. It's now a Big Lots.
The building about a mile north, on the back side of Oakland Mall that was the previous location for Circuit City is now a showroom for classic cars.
There are at least two former big-box stores in the Downriver suburbs of Wayne County, MI, that are now mega-churches: the old Kmart on Outer Drive in Melvindale and the old Sports Authority at I-75 and Eureka Road in Taylor. In addition, about a mile west, the former Mervyn's anchor spot at Southland Center is still vacant.
I find the mirror image Menards to be particularly annoying. My preference is as you face the entrance to have electrical to the left. My area has both layouts and it is very disconcerting to be in a backwards store.
Had an uncle live in an apartment building with LH and RH versions. Some time after he went to the nursing home an acquaintance of mine wound up in Unc's old complex, in a mirror image unit. Even with the elapsed time, I found the layout really a problem.
Quote from: DaBigE on February 09, 2014, 08:20:43 PM
Kmart (W) -> Burlington Coat Factory, Madison, WI
The beginning of the end of that shopping center.
Quote from: froggie on February 15, 2014, 08:37:15 AM
Quotegood point on store layouts being nearly identical all over.
This may depend on the chain. I can walk into three different Price Chopper's in Vermont (Berlin, Morrisville, St. J) and see three VERY different layouts.
My father used to work retail for a few different chains (local and national), and he said that having the layouts different is intentional - it causes the shopper to find other things they want in the process of finding the things they need.
Quote from: GaryV on February 17, 2014, 08:40:26 PM
The building about a mile north, on the back side of Oakland Mall that was the previous location for Circuit City is now a showroom for classic cars.
Circuit City boxes never seem to stay vacant for long. Whichever architectural firm created the design deserves a gold star...although I suppose in the spirit of the thread, it's just a protruding box on top.
Quote from: formulanone on March 03, 2014, 10:58:39 AM
Quote from: GaryV on February 17, 2014, 08:40:26 PM
The building about a mile north, on the back side of Oakland Mall that was the previous location for Circuit City is now a showroom for classic cars.
Circuit City boxes never seem to stay vacant for long. Whichever architectural firm created the design deserves a gold star...although I suppose in the spirit of the thread, it's just a protruding box on top.
There's a still-empty one in Somerville, MA. Wal-Mart was going to open one of their small market concept stores in the space, but locals decided Wal-Mart is for communities content to cater to poor people and said no.
Both Circuit Cities near me got turned into HHGreggs.
CompUSA turned into a Fresh Market, of all things.
The mall near me had Borders as an anchor, which became a succession of stores upon Borders' bankruptcy (including a toy store, an art gallery, and a Halloween store), before coming a massive Forever 21.
Both K-Marts near me are closing, with one to become a Harris Teeter (I think), and another to become a relocated Kroger.
An old Linens N' Things near me is still vacant.