Thursday, March 17, 2016

Kohl's Kaput in Three Local Communities

Typical look of a non-mall-based Kohl's 
Department store details store closures

Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based Kohl's announced Wednesday the eighteen "underperforming" stores it plans to close in the coming months.  Of the eighteen, three will close in metro Atlanta.  The closures will leave the chain with 31 locations in Georgia, none inside the perimeter.  

Georgia was the second worst hit state.  Nine closures are planned for California and two in Florida.  

The affected stores are in Roswell, at 2342 Holcomb Bridge Road, in Lithonia at 2929 Turner Hill Road (The Mall at Stonecrest), and in Tucker at 4820 Briarcliff Road (Northlake Mall.) 

The Roswell and Tucker locations are expected to close by June 19th, the Lithonia location will close November 1, 2016. 

The Kohl's in Roswell anchors Centennial Village where Kroger is also an anchor.  While I have no reason to believe discussions are already underway, I think its within reason to suspect Kroger may have interest in the Kohl's space.  Kroger currently occupies a nearly 56,000 square foot space while the Kohl's space is nearly 87,000 square feet.  The expansion, if it were to occur, would not  necessarily make the Kroger a "Marketplace" store, but would allow the grocer to offer a wider selection of merchandise. 

A Kroger Marketplace is typically at least 113,000 square feet while some stores of at least 100,000 or so square feet are known as "Kroger Bountiful."

The 100,000 square foot, two-level Kohl's at Northlake Mall, opened in early 2008 in place of Parisian. (Parisian  was purchased by Belk with Belk opting not to operate the store under its banner.)  The store was not originally part of the mall and was added to the mall in the early 90s, joining existing anchors Sears, JC Penney, and Davison's, now Macy's.  

As ToNeTo Atlanta readers will recall, Northlake Mall was sold to new owners early last month who see "tremendous potential" in the property.  It's unclear if this closure is good or bad for the new owners, but does give them the imminent possibility of reconcepting or possibly revamping the entire space to make better use of it.  

The two level Kohl's store at The Mall at Stonecrest opened in 2007 in what was also originally built as a Parisian in 2001. (I was unable to find the exact square footage but I believe it's of similar size to the Northlake location.)  I'm personally far less familiar with the possibilities at Stonecrest as I've only visited the mall a few times, years ago.  It's highly unlikely the entire anchor space would be filled by a new department store anchor with most such stores reducing their nationwide store operations.  Near The Mall at Stonecrest, Target closed their nearly 125,000 square foot store on Mall Parkway in early 2015: it remains vacant.  

The other fifteen Kohl's slated for closure are:

Arcadia, CA–7279 N. Rosemead Blvd., San Gabriel, California

Cypress, CA–10201 Valley View St., Cypress, California

Ladera Ranch, CA–27426 Antonio Parkway, Ladera Ranch, California 

Mira Mesa, CA–8140 Mira Mesa Blvd., San Diego, California

Rancho Cordova, CA–11051 Olson Drive, Rancho Cordova, California

Santa Ana, CA–1351 W. 17th St., Santa Ana, California

San Jose East, CA–2323 McKee Road, San Jose, California

Upland South, CA–233 S. Mountain Ave., Upland, California 

West Hills, CA–6651 N. Fallbrook Ave., West Hills, California

Hialeah, FL–700 W. 49th St., Hialeah, Florida

Tallahassee, FL–6785 Thomasville Road, Tallahassee, Florida

Saint Charles, IL–3840 E. Main St., Saint Charles,Illinois

Pineville, NC–9579 S. Blvd., Charlotte, North Carolina

Princeton, NJ–200 Nassau Park Blvd., Princeton, New Jersey

Brown Deer, WI–9060 N. Green Bay Road, Brown Deer, Wisconsin


The release announcing the store closures also noted that "every eligible store associate will be offered the opportunity to work at a nearby Kohl’s or, if they choose, can accept a competitive severance package. On average, Kohl’s stores employ approximately 80-100 associates."

In addition to the store closures, the company noted that they plan to "pilot seven new smaller format Kohl’s stores in various regions around the country" and add two additional Off/Aisle pilot stores in Wisconsin. (Off/Aisle stores are stocked with  customer product returns from Kohl’s stores and its e-commerce business.) Kohl's also plans to open 12 Fila outlet stores, "marking Kohl’s first entry into the outlet space." 

Are you a fan of Kohl's? What would you like to see open in each closing Kohl's store?  What is your favorite department store?

Please share your thoughts below. 

15 comments:

Ham said...

While I don’t shop at North Lake or Kohl’s I was still a little surprised to see that store close. With continued growth/redevelopment in the general area as well as the new mall ownership you would think they might stick it out.

Anonymous said...

Kohl's leaving Northlake is not good no matter how residents and the new buyer will attempt to spin it. That mall is destined to become medical offices, nothing upscale. Stonecrest isn't a surprise as that mall and area continue to decline. Personally I don't shop at high markup, always on "sale" Kohl's. Their pricing strategy and low quality is getting old.

Anonymous said...

A recession is on the horizon.

Anonymous said...

Well, the Northlake location is too big to replace with another "We Buy Gold" or nail salon. That mall is doomed unless the new owners do something soon.

Anonymous said...

Pretty much all of my business casual attire that I wear every day is from Kohls. Have found some Croft and Barrow stuff that has held up pretty well, prices were good. I got it all at Northlake. Have also gotten quite a bit of kids stuff at that Kohls, which I liked a lot more than the Parisian before it.

Not a good sign that the community could not keep it afloat.

~mindspringyahoo

Anonymous said...

I am really surprised Kohls is closing at Northlake. Roswell I can understand because there's another Kohls just a few miles up Holcomb Bridge towards Marietta. But with Northlake closing, the closest Kohls to Intown would be East Cobb. I believe that Kohls merchandise is superior to clothes at similar dept stores like Marshalls or TJ Maxx or JC Penny with better pricing and more varied offerings and higher quality clothes.Are people Intown just not going shopping as much as they do in the northern suburbs or do they not have enough money to?

Anonymous said...

Following so closely on the heels of the acquisition of the mall by its new owner, I have to wonder if the decision of Kohl's to close isn't related, since it's the only one of the four anchor stores that is part of the mall property acquired by ATR Corinth Partners. And that isn't the entire mall as we think of it - it excludes the sizeable parcels that are the other anchor stores other than Kohl's (it's clear in the property tax records that it's the old business model, whereby JCP, Macy's and Sears own the dirt that their respective stores and parking lots occupy). The new owner doesn't have full control of the mall as long as those anchors continue to own. If they have plans for redevelopment, I wonder if Kohl's departure is a first step in a longer range plan which may include acquiring some or all of the remaining mall properties.

I will be sad to see Kohl's go. I shop there fairly often since it's so convenient to the neighborhood (I don't love shopping and dislike driving and traffic even more.) But I do look forward to seeing what's to come from the new owner since I think this may be a sign that there are real changes coming, and that can only be for the best. It's sad that the mall's best days have been behind it for a lot of years. The neighborhood is full of people with money to spend who would support something better in their community.

Anonymous said...

Closest Kohls for Northlake would be Snellville, which is in a retail building boom of sorts

Anonymous said...

Sad to see Kohls leave Northlake. Did a lot of shopping there. As another poster mentioned there really aren't any other Kohls close by. Not surprised by the closing though because the store was never as busy as other Kohls.

jeff a. taylor said...

Kohl's is a clothing convenience store -- it might not be your first choice, but you like having it around in a pinch. Realize you are short a belt, sox, or cuff links, you've got a bailout down the street. And yeah, the prices are gimmicky and weird, but you can find deals now and thing. Especially if you have kids. I do like that they've brought back Columbia, Chaps, etc. and other brands that went missing during the depths of the Great Recession. OK quality and materials that won't fall apart after three washings.

Anonymous said...

Kohl's for people with bad taste. It reminds me of Uptons.

Inside Peachtree Corners said...

I don't see that Kroger taking that Kohl's location in Roswell. There is poor visibility from Holcomb Bridge for that Kohl's. The space may be bigger, but that's all it has going for it.

Anonymous said...

SO BUMMED about this news. I'm a big Kohl's shopper and usually go to the Northlake store several times a month. The east Roswell store is my next fav Kohl's location. Both stores seemed to always be pretty busy, often with lines at the checkout ... and PACKED during the holidays. But under-performing can mean so many things so who knows all the reasons behind their being among the stores being closed. Pray that the remaining metro stores will survive long term.

Anonymous said...

Kroger is down the hill from the Holcomb Bridge Kohl's store. Plus there's a Petco attached to the Kohl's store. If Kroger expands out to that property then it will be a mega mega store and we'll all need motorized scooters to shop there!

Anonymous said...

I just don't get it. Nothlake can't even a keep slightly-above-discount clothing store going? Does everyone drive to Buckhead, shop online, or rummage at Goodwill?

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