Sears to close 100 to 120 Kmart, Sears stores

[Zayre88]

Warminster PA Kmart to close in March

Posted: Friday, January 11, 2013 7:00 pm | Updated: 9:25 pm, Fri Jan 11, 2013.

Kmart plans to close its struggling Warminster store this spring.
Company spokesman Howard Riefs said in an email that the decision to close the under-performing store was made as part "of a series of actions we’re taking to reduce ongoing expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/money/warminster-kmart-to-close-in-march/article_72a6825e-0802-525f-ae15-4002aa6ef82d.html

[Zayre88]

Anniston's Kmart will close soon
Jan 09, 2013

Anniston’s Kmart will soon be closing its doors.

A manager at the local store, one of Anniston’s oldest big-box retailers, confirmed that it would be closing, but directed all other questions, including the specific date of closure, to the company’s corporate media relations department.

Efforts to reach media relations representatives with Sears Holdings, the parent company of Kmart, were unsuccessful Tuesday.

The Anniston Kmart opened its doors in 1973 in an 84,000-square-foot space on McClellan Boulevard.

http://annistonstar.com/view/full_story/21347883/article-Anniston-s-Kmart-will-close-soon

[Zayre88]

I think we have listed more than a dozen of Kmart closings since October 2012!!

Kmart is really going out of business one store at a time!

[Zayre88]

Kmart plans to close Las Cruces store on El Paseo Road

By Brook Stockberger / bstockberger@lcsun-news.com
Posted:   01/15/2013 02:58:59 PM MST

LAS CRUCES â€" After about 40 years in operation, the Kmart at 1240 El Paseo Road will close its doors on April 14. A liquidation sale is set to start on Jan. 27.
The other Kmart store in Las Cruces, at 1900 Bataan Memorial E, will remain open. The company reports that the 58 employees at the closing store will have an opportunity to apply for positions at other Kmart as well as Sears stores.

http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_22376947/kmart-plans-close-las-cruces-store-el-paseo

[shore72]

From what I've seen, most of the people who shop at Kmart these days do so because it is in their neighborhood; they'd like to go to Walmart or Target but it is too far to drive. Since a lot of Kmarts are in parts of town that are now on the skids, that makes for a low income clientele. This just pulls their reputation down further. To many, the Kmart brand has been the epitome of cheesiness for decades now. Their best bet might have been just coming up with a whole new name and concept, maybe they could have revived the Kresge brand and aimed for somewhere between Target and Kohls. Hard to imagine something that could cause preppy young women to want to drive over to the poor side of town, to the store their grandmothers shopped at back in '74. Don't get me wrong, I actually like Kmart!

[retailisking]

Queensbury, NY's Super Kmart will eliminate fresh food and downgrade to a regular Kmart by the end of March. In December they sharply reduced operating hours, a trend seen at other Kmarts across the country recently. Staffing has been slashed by more than half.
http://poststar.com/news/local/queensbury-s-kmart-super-center-to-downsize-eliminate-fresh-groceries/article_f4263d2e-60cb-11e2-9982-001a4bcf887a.html

[BillyGr]

Queensbury, NY's Super Kmart will eliminate fresh food and downgrade to a regular Kmart by the end of March. In December they sharply reduced operating hours, a trend seen at other Kmarts across the country recently. Staffing has been slashed by more than half.
http://poststar.com/news/local/queensbury-s-kmart-super-center-to-downsize-eliminate-fresh-groceries/article_f4263d2e-60cb-11e2-9982-001a4bcf887a.html

Not surprising - seems that this has been rumored for quite some time.  Also, given that there weren't ever very many Super K's in NY, and the other two I know of (Amsterdam and Kingston) both closed some time back - it must be quite an effort to supply this one store with items that none of the other Kmarts in the area (state?) would carry.

[nysw3636]

There was a Super Kmart in Middletown, NY.

[Zayre88]

Jan 22, 2013, 11:54am PST UPDATED: Jan 23, 2013, 8:02am PST
Kmart closing Milwaukie store

kmart will close its Milwaukie store and permanently lay off 61 employees.
Kmart, owned by Sears Holding Corp. of Hoffman Estates, Ill., disclosed its plans in a notice under Oregon’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (or WARN).

http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/real-estate-daily/2013/01/kmart-closing-milwaukie-store.html

[Zayre88]

Kmart closing in Irmo
Friday, Jan. 25, 2013

Kmart will close its third store in three years. The chain once had six stores in the Midlands.
The Big K at 6169 St. Andrews Road in Irmo will close April 30 as its lease expires, shopping center owner John Baker said. The 100,000-square-foot store has been in that location close to 35 years, Baker said.
The retailer closed its store on Bush River Road in 2009 after about 35 years in that location. The building sat empty until recently when it was transformed into a church.

http://www.thestate.com/2013/01/25/2603797/trader-joes-to-open-soon-kmart.html#.UQWpGR08CSo

[IGA/Kmart Is Forever!]

Kmart closing in Irmo
Friday, Jan. 25, 2013

Kmart will close its third store in three years. The chain once had six stores in the Midlands.
The Big K at 6169 St. Andrews Road in Irmo will close April 30 as its lease expires, shopping center owner John Baker said. The 100,000-square-foot store has been in that location close to 35 years, Baker said.
The retailer closed its store on Bush River Road in 2009 after about 35 years in that location. The building sat empty until recently when it was transformed into a church.

http://www.thestate.com/2013/01/25/2603797/trader-joes-to-open-soon-kmart.html#.UQWpGR08CSo

Is this Kmart Store that is closing in the state of Kentucky?

[Zayre88]

Is this Kmart Store that is closing in the state of Kentucky?

In South Carolina.

[retailisking]

In Woodhaven, MI, they are moving on after losing Kmart
http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2013/01/26/news/doc51029ec68f802182742139.txt

[retailisking]

The WSJ tells an all too familiar story about the state of Kmart and its prospects for a turnaround
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323783704578247762547817102.html

[retailisking]

Kmart closing in Seattle
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/2013/01/aurora-kmart-to-close-in-march.html

[Zayre88]

Kmart closing in Seattle
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/2013/01/aurora-kmart-to-close-in-march.html

Apparently this store started as a "White Front" store.

http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Kmart-in-North-Seattle-to-close-soon-4227820.php#photo-4096405

[retailisking]

Sears is closing its Prince of Orange Mall store in May
http://thetandd.com/business/local/sears-preparing-to-close-in-may/article_ab84528e-6906-11e2-a162-0019bb2963f4.html

[zonemad96]

my local sears cut their hours back now they close at 8 pm which is a bit of a worry since the rest of the mall is open till 9 and usually has shoppers in their up until they close their doors.

[IGA/Kmart Is Forever!]

I just read on www.yahoo.com that Kmart is planning to close 175 to 225 stores this year and that Sears is planning to close 100 to 125 stores. I certainly hope and pray that it does not include the three Big Kmart Stores of the county of my state that I live in along with their Super Kmart Center that is like 60 minutes away from me.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/eight-retailers-that-will-close-the-most-stores-173320796.html

[Zayre88]

I just read on www.yahoo.com that Kmart is planning to close 175 to 225 stores this year and that Sears is planning to close 100 to 125 stores. I certainly hope and pray that it does not include the three Big Kmart Stores of the county of my state that I live in along with their Super Kmart Center that is like 60 minutes away from me.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/eight-retailers-that-will-close-the-most-stores-173320796.html

That statement is plausible...  Anyone that looks at Sears and Kmart knows that something is wrong with these chains.  Almost every time there is an online article about Sears or Kmart, comments at the bottom of the page always include people apparently surprised that Kmart is still open for example.  It could be sarcastic but after 1,000 closings, Kmart has been out of several markets in the United States for a while....

[zonemad96]

I don't think we will get the number of closings that they think will happen in this article but I do think we will see another list of about 100 store closings.

[IGA/Kmart Is Forever!]

Kmart is a distant 3rd, stores are too old, too small and prices are not competitive compared to Walmart and Target.

Since when is there anything wrong with Kmart having old stores? Back in the 1980/1990's a lot of the Hills and Ames Department Stores that we had here in my part of the country were old and they still did financially well. In fact, the Hills Department Store that my mother took me to got so busy that if you put items in layaway, you had to wait for more than an hour to make your layaway payment every two weeks until the item was paid off. Can you imagine having to a wait through a line every two weeks that lasts an hour or more just to make a layaway payment? Back to my original point though, this building was old along with most of the other Hills and Ames Department Stores and they still did financially well. Why should Kmart be any different?

[zonemad96]

Kmart is a distant 3rd, stores are too old, too small and prices are not competitive compared to Walmart and Target.

Since when is there anything wrong with Kmart having old stores? Back in the 1980/1990's a lot of the Hills and Ames Department Stores that we had here in my part of the country were old and they still did financially well. In fact, the Hills Department Store that my mother took me to got so busy that if you put items in layaway, you had to wait for more than an hour to make your layaway payment every two weeks until the item was paid off. Can you imagine having to a wait through a line every two weeks that lasts an hour or more just to make a layaway payment? Back to my original point though, this building was old along with most of the other Hills and Ames Department Stores and they still did financially well. Why should Kmart be any different?

Yes hill and ames did so financially well that's why we all still shop their today  ;D

No one wants to shop in a rundown store with leaky roofs, a parking lot that has more grass in it then asphalt, old bathrooms with piss stained floors that have literally over the years stained the floor near the urinal and the acid from the urine starts to eat away at the tile. Sure all those things can be fixed by renovating the place but the problem with those old bulding's is you fix one issue another pops up and they keep popping up and popping up and you dont have time or money to fix them all and bam your store is a falling apart mess.

that's the huge issue with any old building they need lots of care and attention with a newer building issues pop up alot less than with a older building and the issues usually aren't as severe and costly. Why do you think kmarts keep disappearing one by one and not on a list of store closings? Its because the places are old and falling apart and they know they don't have the money to keep them up and running properly so they just let the leases expire.

Old stores would be just fine if kmart was making the money to remodel their stores and take care of them but obviously their not. The biggest issue with kmarts stores being old is its hurting their image so how do you fix it? You remodel and build new stores! How do you do that with no money? You cant! Had they started fixing up stores along time ago they wouldn't be as bad off as they are now but instead they just shrugged their shoulders and said ehh its fine. Kmart's terrible looking stores are a big part of the reason why their at the state they are in today.

[Zayre88]

Since when is there anything wrong with Kmart having old stores?

As a retail fan, I like these old stores.  However, in the retail world in 2013, several Kmart stores are way out of date at a time when consumer are looking for a great shopping experience.

If I look at Maine & New Hampshire, most Wal-Mart stores have been built in the early 90's and the vast majority has been renovated, or expanded and renovated, or entirely replaced by new buildings in the 2000's.

Most Target stores have opened between 2001 and today, they've been updated.

Kmart stores....  they received the Big-Kmart upgrades in the mid 90's.  Many have new automatic doors, some have updated signs... that's it.  Walk into any of these Kmart in 1997 and in 2013 and you see the same layout, same beige store fixtures and shelves, same mismatched ceiling and floor tiles, the old "Music & Video" sign in the Electronics dept, the same register counters...

Unfortunately Kmart is irrelevant with that kind of offer.   

[IGA/Kmart Is Forever!]

Kmart is a distant 3rd, stores are too old, too small and prices are not competitive compared to Walmart and Target.

Since when is there anything wrong with Kmart having old stores? Back in the 1980/1990's a lot of the Hills and Ames Department Stores that we had here in my part of the country were old and they still did financially well. In fact, the Hills Department Store that my mother took me to got so busy that if you put items in layaway, you had to wait for more than an hour to make your layaway payment every two weeks until the item was paid off. Can you imagine having to a wait through a line every two weeks that lasts an hour or more just to make a layaway payment? Back to my original point though, this building was old along with most of the other Hills and Ames Department Stores and they still did financially well. Why should Kmart be any different?

Yes hill and ames did so financially well that's why we all still shop their today  ;D

No one wants to shop in a rundown store with leaky roofs, a parking lot that has more grass in it then asphalt, old bathrooms with piss stained floors that have literally over the years stained the floor near the urinal and the acid from the urine starts to eat away at the tile. Sure all those things can be fixed by renovating the place but the problem with those old bulding's is you fix one issue another pops up and they keep popping up and popping up and you dont have time or money to fix them all and bam your store is a falling apart mess.

that's the huge issue with any old building they need lots of care and attention with a newer building issues pop up alot less than with a older building and the issues usually aren't as severe and costly. Why do you think kmarts keep disappearing one by one and not on a list of store closings? Its because the places are old and falling apart and they know they don't have the money to keep them up and running properly so they just let the leases expire.

Old stores would be just fine if kmart was making the money to remodel their stores and take care of them but obviously their not. The biggest issue with kmarts stores being old is its hurting their image so how do you fix it? You remodel and build new stores! How do you do that with no money? You cant! Had they started fixing up stores along time ago they wouldn't be as bad off as they are now but instead they just shrugged their shoulders and said ehh its fine. Kmart's terrible looking stores are a big part of the reason why their at the state they are in today.

One thing that I read about Kmart on wikipedia was in the 1990's they stopped focusing on their Kmart Stores and just focused on the other businesses that it was that they owned. That kind of sounds like what they did even in 2005 when they purchased the Sears chain. This was back when Wal*Mart was not as big as they were today and Kmart could have possibly tried relocating or rebuilding some of their stores back in the 1990's which could have kept Kmart in the #1 Discount Department Store Retailer place today.

Here is the Wikipedia story that I am talking about.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kmart

[IGA/Kmart Is Forever!]

Since when is there anything wrong with Kmart having old stores?

As a retail fan, I like these old stores.  However, in the retail world in 2013, several Kmart stores are way out of date at a time when consumer are looking for a great shopping experience.
   

I am exactly like you are Zayre88. I like old retail stores, too. There is something that I have always liked about them since I was a little boy. Not only that, but I pretty much like the stores as an adult that my mother and father raised me on which are the stores that they used to take me to when I was growing up which consists of IGA Supermarket Stores, Hills Discount Department Stores, Ames Discount Department Stores, Kmart Discount Department Stores, Kaufmann's Department Stores, & JCPenney Department Stores. All I pretty much have left to shop at now is my local IGA Supermarkets, Kmart Stores, & JCPenney now that Hills, Ames, & Kaufmann's no longer exist.

Some Kmart Stores are out of date just like you state Zayre88. But all three of the Big Kmart Stores in the county of the state that I live in are still in pretty decent shape and they have recently renovated the restrooms in all three of these Big Kmart Stores.

Since the Kmart Super Center that I go to that is like 60 minutes away from me was built back in the 1990's it is probably in much better shape than these three Big Kmart Stores are since these three Big Kmart Stores were built back in the 1960's/1970's.

P.S. I also like Kroger's Supermarket's too, whenever I go to visit my brother who is going to college in another state.

[Zayre88]

What gets me mad is that Kmart opened many brand new stores and Super Kmarts in the 90's and today a large number of these are closed.

Meanwhile, many older Kmart stores manage to stay open but were never renovated to the size and standards of these newly built Kmarts.

By newer Kmart I mean this style:


Meanwhile this store is open with the 1978 storefront:

[shore72]

And that second photo looks like 2 of the 3 Kmarts nearest me. Yes, I find it neat that the sign outside that says "Garden Center" dates from the mid-70s, but the college kids that practically grew up on Target & Kohls? I doubt some of them have ever stepped foot in a Kmart. Ever since Ames closed, they are the oldest store in many markets. More and more of their clientele, as I've mentioned before, shop there only because it's close by. With traffic, WalMart or Target could be 15 minutes away but if you live just down the street, eh, go to Kmart, save some gas. But you can't build a future on that market segment.

[IGA/Kmart Is Forever!]

What gets me mad is that Kmart opened many brand new stores and Super Kmarts in the 90's and today a large number of these are closed.

Meanwhile, many older Kmart stores manage to stay open but were never renovated to the size and standards of these newly built Kmarts.

By newer Kmart I mean this style:


Meanwhile this store is open with the 1978 storefront:

I've never been in one of these newer style Kmart Stores. I would go to one if I knew where there was one close by to me, but unfortunately there aren't any. Like I stated in my last post on this topic, the only newer Kmart Store around me is the Super Kmart Center built back in the 1990's that is like 60 minutes away from me. These newer Kmart Stores are in other parts of the country though.

[ynkeesfn82]

Sadly I really think they are past the point of no return. Even if they were able to somehow get cash to remodel their stores, people's opinions of the stores are that they're dirty, rundown, and unkempt. Then there's a marketing issue. Although personally I see handful of commercials on TV for them apparently a lot of people haven't seen them. I remember last year telling someone I went to the Waterbury, CT store they looked dumbfounded and said "I didn't know KMART was still around."