Thursday, December 29, 2011

Kmart and Sears Release (Partial) Closure List

Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based Sears Holding Company has released a partial list of Sears and Kmart stores it will close after a disappointing holiday shopping season.  Included in the Georgia closings are a Sears store at Macon Mall in Macon and a Kmart store on Buford Highway in Buford.   (A Kmart store already closed last month on Buford Highway in Doraville)

The list includes 79 stores slated for closure though the chain may eventually close between 100 and 120 stores.  

Where did it all go wrong for these two storied retailers?  Should the two companies not have merged?  What other metro locations of Sears or Kmart do you think may be shuttered?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.  

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10 comments:

Atlantan99 said...

First Borders, then Filene's Basement...next Sears & Kmart?

Anonymous said...

Rumor has it that the Sears on Johnson Ferry and Roswell in East Cobb is going back to being a Kmart.

Anonymous said...

When I think Sears I think of my grandma. When I think of K Mart I think of a dirty store and florescent lights. Combining the two doesn't make things better. JC Penny (to me) is a lot like Sears but they are taking steps to not become lost to time. They recently snagged a top Apple exec who was responsible for the Apple stores. This kind of move by JC Penny will keep it from becoming Sears II.

Anonymous said...

Very surprised the Northlake Sears isn't (yet) on the closure list. It always seems deserted.

Regarding Kmart, their stores always seemed rundown and in various states of disarry. Does anyone remember the Kmart on Clairmont Road (where Sams Club now is) or the one in what used to be Broadview Plaza (now Lindbergh Station)? Buzzing/flickering/burned-out fluorescent lights, dirty, sticky floors, and pothole-filled parking lots were their trademark!

Anonymous said...

Note to Atlantan99:

Ed's IGA (more recently known as Food Universe IGA) at Briarcliff and Clairmont roads is closing at the end of this year, possibly to be replaced by a QuikTrip. (Aren't there already enough of these around here?)

Not sure if this entails partial or total demolition of the Briarcliff Shopping Center, which opened in 1960 with Big Apple, then Food Giant, then SuperValu, and finally Ed's/Food Universe IGA. Ed's was in dire need of remodeling, and with Kroger and Publix and Whole Foods nearby, it had become basically irrelevant.

Many in the area would like to see a totally redeveloped shopping center with a Trader Joe's in that spot.

Atlantan99 said...

Hi Anon,

I too am surprised Northlake is still open but I guess it does better than it appears.

As for Kmart, I shopped both the Clairmont Road and Broadview Plaza locations when I was younger and even then felt they were outdated. Target has a far better layout and product line and Walmart... well they just are Walmart.

HAHAHA, oh the potholes!

Thanks for the comment and for reading the blog.

Anonymous said...

I'm really glad the Northlake store isn't on that list. That mall needs to keep all the stores it can. Given that most Sears stores are not that crowded I think the Northlake store does ok.

Atlantan99 said...

Hi Anon Re: IGA,

I've been working on confirming details of this for a couple weeks now. The one thing that is for sure is that IGA has closed.

As far as QuikTrip goes, they were at one point in talks but I've thus far been unable to get confirmation on their current plans.

While I live in the neighborhood, I highly doubt a Trader Joe's would ever open there, even if there was room. They have said they won't be putting any other stores in Atlanta anytime soon and this is far from a premier location for them.

Glad to have some neighborhood insight on the previous tenants. I thought there were says as a Piggly Wiggly too...???

Thanks for the comments and for reading the blog.

mindspringyahoo said...

I was a cashier at the Clairmont Supervalue in the late 80s, and it was kind of behind the times even then. When I started, we still manually entered prices that were on the little stickers on each item. A decent amount of the clientele was comprised of people from the Clairmont Lodge, which was part of the Days Inn across from the Sam's.

I've walked through the IGA a couple of times in recent years and it's a dirty and disgusting dump.

I'm guessing something really uninteresting will end up there, like accounting/medical office space.

Anonymous said...

The old Days Inn/Clairmont Lodge was buldozed several years ago and replaced by apartments.

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