Why does Ed leave stragglers? In other words, when most of the stores in 1 state close, why is there occasionally 1 left? For example, most of the Sears in Hawaii closed, but 1 straggler is left. SO they have to ship stuff by boat to a remote island for 1 store. There is not 1 Kmart left in California, Montana, and Michigan. (Though in the case of the latter two, I genuinely think he might have forgotten they were even still open 😀🤣😅😁). Then there is 1 each of Kmart and Sears in Puerto Rico, and they are both in the same parking lot. Why the stragglers? What Costs are involved sending a truck to 1 lone store in Marshall Michigan, or Hamilton Montana, with no other stores within 100's (if not thousands) of miles? He just yanked 2 CA Kmarts, why not just pull the plug on Grass Valley Kmart and be done with CA altogether (at least Kmart-Wise)? It's like when you spray weeds in the Lawn and you forget one, then it just sticks out like an eyesore. That's how these odd stragglers look, on the maps. I mean, Hamilton Montana (population 4,000) needs a Kmart while the entire southern California market (which includes the second largest city in the country) has zero? Come on now.
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I will have you Know we have over 3 horses in Hamilton MT. 😉😜
We are definitely not a one-horse town.
Wait, Hamilton MT has a downtown? For what, horses? 😆😄🤣
(And to the fine people of Hamilton MT, this was a joke.....don't be offended LOL).
Does Hamilton MT even have a "downtown", LOL? Beer for my horses!
The Kmart near me survived for many years with a Target less than a mile away. The knock out blow came when Walmart opened a store down the street. The Kmart closed within a few months. It does get me wondering how long Sears/Kmart can sputter along in places the competition can't or won't touch. Maybe this saga goes on for a couple more years? Hamilton Mt., with both a Hometown store and a Kmart could become the new headquarters. Eddie can sell the properties in Illinois, pocket the proceeds, and rent a downtown office for Leena in Hamilton..
Agree with all your points. But again, in White Plains, Miami, and Avenel (I think?), there are Targets with a couple of miles. Yet they oddly linger on for some reason. Hato Rey literally has Sears and Kmarts in separate buildings in the same parking lot. Why they couldn't combine operations of those two, into one building to save overhead, is beyond me. Also it's interesting, that with all these closures, not a glove has been laid on ol' Guam and USVI. They are untouchable, it appears. I'm wondering if there is some "arrangement" with the government of those jurisdictions, whereas the existence of those stores might be subsidized, due to limited other stores for the residents. Probably not, for Guam, as that store is a walking Goldmine, but maybe in the case of USVI? Just a wild guess.
I don't know specifically about the remaining big city stores, but in some cases they had lease deals made decades ago. When Sears/Kmart were at their peaks, property owners would sign 50 year deals. With cheap rent, then it's down to paying a few staff and the electric bill etc. Wages are higher in NYC, but likely stores get more foot traffic and a higher markup on sales. For various reasons Sears/Kmart has been more popular in some places, usually because there isn't a convenient alternative. Hamilton Mt isn't big enough to attract a Walmart, otherwise the Kmart would be long gone.
I've also seen Sears keep stores open while angling for a better deal on the real estate. About the only (near)certainty here is the eventual closure of all the stores. With every closure, the entire company becomes less viable. How they can operate this thing with an ever shrinking store base is beyond me.
@1tzy+1bse5Kjz Agreed. Hamilton MT is a low-Cost area to run a store. But what about more expensive markets, such as NYC and Miami? Both those cities have Kmart AND Sears. He is almost certainly losing Loot by keeping stores like that open, no? Minimum Wage in NYC is $15 per Hour, not to mention high overhead in the most expensive city in the country (if not the western Hemisphere).
The only big picture retail strategy for Eddie is lining his own pockets as assets are sold off. The "straggler" stores likely make enough in gross profit to pay basic store level expenses, at least for the time being. It doesn't cost much to operate a store in Hamilton Mt., and I'm guessing no one is beating down the doors trying to buy the property. So Eddie might as well keep it open until it starts costing him money to pay the few employees their minimum wage. Then the closing announcement will happen.
There's also the possibility Eddie will benefit by playing retailer long enough to inherit the Sears Holdings tax losses. So he'll keep a few stores open in the least expensive locations.
Regardless of the details, there's no chance these stores will stay open long term.
That is because these are the "go forward" stores and when they start opening new stores in these states, those older stores will be the new division stores since they were the most profitable of the old. New Sears and Kmarts are on the way. We are going to beat Wal-Mart!
Or the week after that. Or tomorrow. Or next month. Or next year. Don’t worry.
I Agree But Don’t worry it could be another list of closures this week or next week
- Sorry, I meant "now" 1 Kmart left.