8 chains closing multiple stores this year

[ynkeesfn82]

The following is a list of stores that will be closing numerous locations this year:

1. Best Buy
2. Sears/KMART
3. JC Penney
4. Office Depot
5. Barnes & Noble
6. Game Stop
7. Office Max
8. Radio Shack

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/eight-retailers-that-will-close-the-most-stores-173320796.html?page=1

[Zayre88]

All very plausible choices!  Especially Sears-Kmart and JCPenney.

[Hudsons81]

I hope that the B&N in Allen Park, MI, at Fairlane Green (aka "The Hill") does not close as it's now the Downriver region's only big-box bookstore  :o following the closure of the Borders at Southland Center back in 2011 (that is soon going to be a Forever 21).

[zonemad96]

2. Sears/KMART
3. JC Penney
5. Barnes & Noble
6. Game Stop
These are the only ones on this list that I think will close a noticeable amount stores. I really don't see game stop closing stores but if they do it will most likely be in places where theirs locations right next to each other. I've seen 2 gamestops within 5 miles of each other I have also seen 2 story malls with a store on both the first and the second story which really makes no sense.

[JoshAustin610]

Gamestop's biggest liability is the long term leases they have on many of their stores; that's the reason why there are still multiple stores in the same mall, or two stores across the street from each other.  The majority of the non-mall stores opened around 2003 and 2004 when Gamestop and EB were competing; with most stores having a 10 year lease that means a lot of them will be coming up this year and next.  Some of these stores may have been unprofitable for years, so they'll be glad to get out of them.

[IGA/Kmart Is Forever!]

2. Sears/KMART
3. JC Penney
5. Barnes & Noble
6. Game Stop
These are the only ones on this list that I think will close a noticeable amount stores. I really don't see game stop closing stores but if they do it will most likely be in places where theirs locations right next to each other. I've seen 2 gamestops within 5 miles of each other I have also seen 2 story malls with a store on both the first and the second story which really makes no sense.

I know that is definitely true about Game Stop. They have at least three or four stores all really very close to each other around where I live.

[retailisking]

GameStop is insanely overstored; here in the Portland, ME area they have three stores within two miles, two of them across the street from each other. With the gaming craze cooling off, they have to be hurting big time. RadioShack makes this list every year, yet they keep soldiering on. B&N has already announced a multi-year strategy of winnowing down its store base, which is proportional to their recent activity. As thoroughly documented on this forum, Sears and Kmart are closing locations as the leases run out, so no surprise there. I was surprised to see Best Buy on the list, as I thought they had largely finished their store closures in the US. Relocations to smaller locations, maybe; closures, no. I also thought Office Depot and OfficeMax had pretty much done all the closures that needed to be done. JCP will probably exit rural markets where its new merchandising philosophy is least likely to resonate. Despite its rural roots, JCP seems likely to surrender smaller markets to the Maurices and Peebles of the world.

[shore72]

Over the last few months I've been in a Radio Shack, a few different Sears, a couple Kmarts and a few JCPenney's...the only place that really seemed to be hurting was JCP. Their mall locations were just depressing, almost comically so-they looked like they were going out of business. I was in a smaller store in a strip mall and it seemed to be doing a lot better. In the malls it seemed like there were 2 or 3 times as many people shopping in Sears vs. Penney's.

[retailisking]

JCP was making a big deal a few years ago about shifting to freestanding locations and out of malls; apparently their struggles nixed those plans. Plus I think the mall backlash is kind of overstated and in enclosed shopping centers are showing signs of recovery; in fact, here in Portland the Maine Mall is nearly 100% occupied.

[JimSawhill]

JCP was making a big deal a few years ago about shifting to freestanding locations and out of malls; apparently their struggles nixed those plans. Plus I think the mall backlash is kind of overstated and in enclosed shopping centers are showing signs of recovery; in fact, here in Portland the Maine Mall is nearly 100% occupied.

Any News of late on those stores -- and closing?

[TRU7536]

The following is a list of stores that will be closing numerous locations this year:

1. Best Buy
2. Sears/KMART
3. JC Penney
4. Office Depot
5. Barnes & Noble
6. Game Stop
7. Office Max
8. Radio Shack

I keep reading over and over again about certain stores and there demise in a few years. Penny's, Radio Shack, Sears, ad Barnes ad Noble are certain to be for in 5 years.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/eight-retailers-that-will-close-the-most-stores-173320796.html?page=1

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

I'm glad Shopko's not on the list!  :)

[JimSawhill]

I'm glad Shopko's not on the list!  :)

Publix is not on the list either!! (Thou they did close a store, no build a modern store in its place!)

[Hudsons81]

I'm glad Shopko's not on the list!  :)

Publix is not on the list either!! (Thou they did close a store, no build a modern store in its place!)

And neither is Meijer!  ;D (Although they did close three stores without building replacements for them, two are in Columbus, OH and the other is in Dayton, OH.)

[jason83080]

If that Kmart in Westlake closes yet again, I'm going to hurt someone. Now, those weird "Sears Appliance & Hardware" stores can definitely go. (With the Home Appliance Showrooms popping up, do we *really* still need the appliances there as well? Revert them back into Sears Hardware, with the plants and everything, like they used to be when they first opened.)

As far as the others go, the only one that I could see having any sort of real impact around the Lorain, OH area is GameStop. In fact, I just saw that the location in Avon Commons (Avon, OH - it started life as an EBGames, if I saw the labelscar correctly) closed down, leaving the nearby French Creek Square location remaining. I think the ones in/around Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted, OH, have consolidated operations as well. (On the subject of GameStops, the location inside Sandusky Mall is like going back in time: It's an old Babbage's, and still has the general look of the software store!)

My thoughts on how these might affect my area:

1. Best Buy
Two nearby locations - Elyria/Midway Mall (a larger location) and Avon (a smaller-box store, without appliances) - and a third in North Olmsted that is likely benefitting from losing both the nearby Circuit City AND CompUSA as competitors. I don't think that we'll lose any, although the location over in Steelyard Commons did close down for some reason.

2. Sears/KMART
Our entire county only has ONE Kmart store (one of the last remaining Super Kmarts), which is down the road from a brand-new larger Walmart store, so its days are probably numbered. The only other close Kmart store is in Westlake, which spent a few years as a Sears Grand before being reverted to a Kmart with the 2012-2013 decor package. Sears-wise, I think the "Appliance and Hardware" stores should be turned back into just-Hardware stores, like they were originally.

3. JC Penney
I could see the Midway Mall location closing, and attention shifting toward the new freestanding Avon, OH location.

4. Office Depot
Can we include OfficeMax in here, with the news of the merger between the two? We definitely won't be affected in the NE Ohio area, since Office Depot abandoned the market years ago, leaving behind just OfficeMax and Staples.

5. Barnes & Noble
We have ONE nearby location, and that's in Crocker Park in Westlake, OH. I doubt that it will be going anywhere: It's two stories tall and is HUGE!

6. Game Stop
Outside of some much-needed consolidation from eating up Babbage's, FuncoLand, and EBGames, I don't think they'll be totally abandoning any markets. Sure, you might have to walk 5 doors down to get to the one remaining location out of two or three, but that's just good business sense: Close down locations that you don't need, and funnel that money into the operations of the remaining stores.

7. Office Max
See #4

8. Radio Shack
The CEO of RadioShack himself can't believe that his stores are still open. "If you need overpriced cell phone accessories, come to RadioShack," I believe, is the quote. (I don't know how legitimate this is, but here's the article: http://www.theonion.com/articles/even-ceo-cant-figure-out-how-radioshack-still-in-b,2190/ ) They're so under the radar that I think they'll survive anything that's thrown at them.

[retailisking]

The Onion is a satirical web site, so you can't take anything there seriously.

[IGA/Kmart Is Forever!]

If that Kmart in Westlake closes yet again, I'm going to hurt someone. Now, those weird "Sears Appliance & Hardware" stores can definitely go. (With the Home Appliance Showrooms popping up, do we *really* still need the appliances there as well? Revert them back into Sears Hardware, with the plants and everything, like they used to be when they first opened.)

My thoughts on how these might affect my area:

2. Sears/KMART
Our entire county only has ONE Kmart store (one of the last remaining Super Kmarts), which is down the road from a brand-new larger Walmart store, so its days are probably numbered. The only other close Kmart store is in Westlake, which spent a few years as a Sears Grand before being reverted to a Kmart with the 2012-2013 decor package. Sears-wise, I think the "Appliance and Hardware" stores should be turned back into just-Hardware stores, like they were originally.

You are not talking about the Super Kmart Center in Brooklyn, are you? This is the last one in my area that I still have left to go to. Also, do you have any photos of the new updated Kmart Store in Westlake, Ohio? I would love to see what it looks like.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

In ten years, Kmart might be demoted to "regional retailer"  status.

In fifteen years, if Kmart continues to close stores, they might be gone forever as a brick-and-mortar store, operating as just an online shopping operation.

[Zayre88]

In ten years, Kmart might be demoted to "regional retailer"  status.

In fifteen years, if Kmart continues to close stores, they might be gone forever as a brick-and-mortar store, operating as just an online shopping operation.

Kmart will be surpassed by Kohl's very soon.  A recent article about Sears Holdings stated that Kmart had 1,221 stores.  More are closing almost every month.  Meanwhile Kohl's has 1,155 and is opening more stores.

At this rate Kmart will indeed become regional retailer end eventually close remaining stores.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

I believe that if Kmart closes some more stores in the Midwest, Shopko might expand into some areas of the Midwest that were previously underserved like North Dakota, Lower Michigan, and Indiana. Some Kmart locations could be picked up by Rose's Discount Stores in the Southern United States, and other locations could be picked up by ALCO in the Plains States. Some Kmart locations could easily be converted to Menards if they're bigger than 100,000 square feet. I think the Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico locations should be sold to either Target or Kohl's. I bet Target will pick them up, especially the "World's Largest Kmart" in Tamuning, Guam. Target did convert a few Kmart-turned-Zellers store locations in Canada, so this conversion will be a piece of cake for Target. The front triangular façade of the Guam Kmart is big enough to house the 1990 Kmart logo, so I think it'll be big enough to house the Target Bullseye logo. Below is a picture of the "World's Largest Kmart" store in Tamuning, Guam, a likely candidate for a conversion to Target with an attractive façade design and rooftop parking.

I hope they keep the façade intact when converting this Kmart to a Target.

[jason83080]

You are not talking about the Super Kmart Center in Brooklyn, are you? This is the last one in my area that I still have left to go to. Also, do you have any photos of the new updated Kmart Store in Westlake, Ohio? I would love to see what it looks like.

No, I was talking about the Super K over in Lorain/Amherst. Brooklyn is the only other one that I know of. I just drove past it, and there's a banner on the building promoting "open 24 hours," which was painted over on the sign. I wonder why it changed back to being open all the time. Competition from the new Walmart, perhaps?

As for the new Westlake Kmart, I don't have any pictures of it right now, but I think Nick over at Dead & Dying Retail might...
http://www.deadanddyingretail.com/2012/03/sears-grand-to-kmart-conversion-in.html

[IGA/Kmart Is Forever!]

As for the new Westlake Kmart, I don't have any pictures of it right now, but I think Nick over at Dead & Dying Retail might...
http://www.deadanddyingretail.com/2012/03/sears-grand-to-kmart-conversion-in.html

The Kmart Store in this link looks really crappy on the outside. I understand that the exterior of the outside of the store was meant to resemble the design of the shopping center that the store is in, but I have seen better converted Kmart Stores to the new red 21st century look than this.

[jason83080]

The white brickwork of the building is straight out of the 1970s. The only facade work done are the white columns across the front, the square base for the Big Kmart > Sears Grand > Kmart logo (to match the overall look of the plaza, which replaced the old 5-section angled roof), the brickwork on all 4 corners - the left side to hide the stores they demolished in the late '90s when they revamped the plaza, and the right side to match the left - and the expanded Garden Center on the right. You can easily pick out where the Auto Service doors were if you look closely enough.

While it might look "crappy" on the outside, it looks gorgeous on the inside. I'm only nitpicky about the layout because I remember when it was Big K the first time, and where things were back in 2005, which isn't where anything is now. All of the 'conversion' work was on the inside. They haven't touched the outside - as Nick points out in his article - since the "Big Kmart"/overall plaza conversion of the '90s.