Sears and Kmart Holiday Plans

[mcwalker]

Here is an article published yesterday (10/31) on Sears and Kmart holiday plans.

 

https://www.twice.com/retailing/attention-sears-and-kmart-shoppers-were-open-for-business

 

They are already having a BF sale on appliances to match the other retailers doing the same, and they will have a Member Preview Night on November 18, when Shop Your Way loyalty program members will have early access to all Black Friday Doorbuster Deals.

 

Maybe I am just an old fogey who remembers when Sears was the biggest retailer in the world (and the tallest building was still called the Sears Tower), but I am hoping that they find a way to keep the venerable business alive and relevant, and maybe return to growth some day.

 

There is a Kmart in the first floor of my office building in Manhattan that appears to be doing OK, but the last Sears in my usual shopping area is slated to close.  Surprisingly, there is still a stand alone Sears Auto in Queens where I recently bought new tires and had them installed.

[mcwalker]

Here is a link to the appliance preview sale: https://www.sears.com/appliances/b-1020003?subCatView=true&searchBy=tag&tagLabel=Black%20Friday%20Deals&pOfferID=1026434&lid=Dynamic_VIDOR_Slice_1&rioptypeid=&emlid=339211462&ruid=2009526&sid=IOx20181101SRSCURFLSx1610407x2009526xS00TCONTMA&utm_source=promotion&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20181101SRSThursHybridSW_Contingency&bxid=75451445212&enmem=

[Kanyon71]

Only way I see Sear's lasting is if someone can find a way to get it away from their current owner.

[miss_heidi]

 

 

There is a Kmart in the first floor of my office building in Manhattan that appears to be doing OK, but the last Sears in my usual shopping area is slated to close.  Surprisingly, there is still a stand alone Sears Auto in Queens where I recently bought new tires and had them installed.

 

The Kmart in the Penn Station area wasn't busy when I'd go there. Tourists checking the place out, of course. Some locals doing an essential run or what have you. The one at Astor Place used to do decent. I think because it was close to the 6 train so it was convenient for those of us who took that train to stop there and do some shopping before heading home. I know for me, my options closer to where I lived were mostly hole in the wall discount stores that had such small selections and weird hours.

 

Now the Kmart in the Bronx was always busy when I would go there with my friend who lived a few blocks from it. That was so weird to me because when I'd come to visit my family in Michigan, we'd go to Kmart and it would be a ghost town. So being in a Kmart that had more than 2 checkout lanes open with waits was weird to me. It reminded me of how Kmart was growing up in the 80s.

 

It is really something to see how times have changed. I worked my first job at Sears while in high school back in 1996 and my mom retired from Kmart after putting a lot of years with the company. How things have changed in deed.

[Trixie]

I was really surprised to see the Sears in Ridgmar Mall(Fort Worth, Tx) to close, it was always busy. When I was a kid I remember being excited when the Christmas WishBook came out. By December it would be worn with the pages folded to mark our place.

We haven't had KMarts in the Dallas/Ft Worth area since 2001 or 2002. Anytime I went to Austin I would stop in the one near Ft Hood. But, I've heard it's now closed