Thread regarding Sears layoffs

@9mtf Thanks for that. So cross of Danbury Sears, this was not in that November list. Gracias! Another one down! :)

Danbury
https://www.ctinsider.com/business/newstimes/article/Sears-lite-strategy-fails-in-CT-store-to-14910496.php

Any chance we get a few more This Week, or are they going to wait until after Christmas?

@12pvJwSF-5rhf It's Eddie himself. Family Court is not going well and he needs to sublimate his frustrations.

Think that Kmart Raleigh NC is closing.

I tend to agree with this post

Most of the rest of both formats in the SE and more thinning out along the West Coast is more likely given the closure of the Delano RRC and the sale of the Ocala RRC. Ocala probably gets announced at the same time the next batch of stores are.

There are going to be Kmart and Sears stores left until the bitter end, but the Kmarts are going to be few and far between.
5 days ago by Anonymous | 12 reactions (+8/-4)
Post ID: @12pvJwSF-csf

People posting links showing store closures are getting down voted? Transform, is this what you have left to do?

Just too many comedians in here.

Link was also provided for Burlington NC

Another Sears set to close...
https://www.app.com/story/money/business/main-street/whats-going-there/2019/12/11/sears-close-freehold-raceway-mall-store/4404418002/

Is this the Sears or K-mart store that is permanently closing in Raleigh on Sunday, February 16?

The last two listings in September and November I believe were posted on Friday so maybe this upcoming list will also be posted on Friday?

If you search Kmart jobs in the official Searsjobs website jobs.sears.com using keyword Kmart in the search finder, there are currently 341 jobs posted as open at kmart. If you scroll thru about 98% of them are store closing and seasonal. At this point seasonal means temporary means closing. Ymmv but that's my reading.

No list is out there and all of this is just guessing. We can name store's but it's all predictions.

Temple city, Ca closing date is 3/08/20.
Raleigh, NC closing date is 2/16/20

Have not seen any huge list. I'm afraid this post may have been c-k bait.

@3ocq Not necessarily. I worked in a Kmart (granted Years ago) and management decided it was no longer worth it to have layaway and it was thus discontinued. The store (West Wood NJ) is still open to This Day. So discontinuing layaway (which I see as extremely pointless anyway) does not guarantee a closing. As I stated before, links or it didn't happen. The Temple City guy provided a wonderful link to Sear jobs website showing that Kmart was closing. That's an example of an awesome post. That's the standard others should also follow.

@3exu I Know! Tired of the bait on here. If you're calling a big closing list, then produce one, or walk away. So far, I have seen 1 link, and that is Temple City CA. 1 closing is not some huge list. Weak.

@3gaq he said "No more layaway" not a lack of layaway signs. That's almost certainly a foregone conclusion that the store is closing. Those get posted a few weeks before liquidation stats.

Well, we're 60 + posts in this thread, and is it just me, or has nobody posted a list yet? Am I missing something here? I mean, I appreciate the philosophical discussions below, regarding Eddie's mentality, and all, LOL. But, OP implied, there was some supposedly huge, "blockbuster" list of closings coming out, and yet, the only provable link was from that dude that posted about Temple City Kmart. His link was legit, and that store is closing, but I have not seen proof of anything else newly announced, THIS Week. Was there really some kind of huge list (as OP of this thread implied), or was Temple City just a one-off, at least for This Week?

@3zmt I agree with you man. But that whole "Last Minute" thing with the judge was just media sensationalism. The company was never going to be instantly liquidated by the judge. It was all theatrics. I kept reading dumb articles online like "Sears has 3 Days, 4 Hours, & 32 Seconds left before they close". Then 24 Hours later I'd read "Sears has 2 Days, 4 Hours, & 32 Seconds left before they close". I Knew they weren't going to close then. It was all theatrics. The judge was going to have Eddie have Winning Bid.
I agree with you about Eddie making false claims about intending to keep it open. But even if I give you that, so what? Eddie could be a horrible, stupid person. I give you that too. However, being a horrible stupid person is not illegal. Neither is changing your mind. 2 Minutes after Winning Bid, Eddie could be like, you Know what? Screw it, I changed my mind and will close this all down. There is nothing, sadly, illegal about that. I'm Happily Married, & I've been with my wife 20 Years, so I'm not a good example of this, but some other people get Married fully intending to be together A Long Time, but they change their mind and get divorced. It's not good, but they can do it. I wouldn't do it, but others do. I totally see your point of view man, and great chatting with ya. Take care, and we'll keep an eye on how this goes.........Merry Christmas!

#3xqk Just a lack of layaway signage doesn't necessarily mean it's closing. Have you actually seen "store closing" signs in Raleigh? If so, then we got something.......

re: "discussing who Destroyed Woolworths" <– Woolworths wasn't destroyed at all. It changed its line of business. It is now Foot Locker, Inc.

@2pyh... you’re probably right. My theory was simply that EL purchased the company out of bankruptcy under false pretenses. When the old Sears went into bankruptcy, news reports stated that EL’s bid was the only bid designed to try to save the company. If he failed then the company would begin liquidating immediately. His bid came in at the literal last second, as I seem to recall he had issues securing financing for the deal. Even then there was no guarantee his bid would be accepted, but somehow it was. That in itself seems fishy, as if the Judge purposely waited for EL’s bid to come in. Why did EL’s bid win if he was going to do the same as what everyone else was gonna do? As in liquidate the company.

However, if he knew the titanic had already hit the iceberg and was going down, but continued to play the “I’m trying to save the company” line, that is dishonesty at its core. As in you knew the ship was sinking but deliberately didn’t say anything. Yes I’m sure everyone knew things were bad, like you said, but statements from the new boss EL said otherwise. Pressure from district, regional, & corporate leaders to continue to meet the numbers, gives off the opinion, “we’re trying to save the ship and your not doing your part, come on step it up!” You see my point. Privately EL and the senior execs know this is done, and they knew it even before the bankruptcy, but publicly play this line of “we’re saving Sears/Kmart!” By not being honest, and essentially lying, this bankruptcy deal was made under false pretenses in my opinion. That is all I am saying. Where’s there’s smoke there’s fire, and something just doesn’t seem right about this whole thing.

Kmart Raleigh is closing. No more layaway signage all over the store

@2sar That post says nothing about stores closing.

@2tdy that’s exactly what is wrong. Instead of being part of the solution, they just add more pressure and fuel to the fire, by incessantly pushing the numbers, as if that’s the only thing that matters. Clearly ignoring that the ship is sinking. And they would continue to push these numbers, even if you were the last Kmart or Sears left in the country. Meanwhile when this thing does go under, they will get a nice soft landing, while the worker bee, gets “don’t let the door hit you on the way out”

@2qag I'm with u buddy. But I don't Know who exactly Eddie gave false hope to. Everyone I Know either thought Kmart has long since been out of business, or thought the few remaining stores will soon close. On Seekingalpha website, the consensus was pretty much that there were 2 options: 1. Either the judge would shut the whole thing down right away, or 2. It would be more of a controlled implosion, and a gradual shutdown. So they went with option #2. Ever see those building implosions they do in Las Vegas Some Times when they're building New C-sinos? They blow up the building, but in a controlled way where it falls into itself and doesn't send stuff flying in every direction where it could injure someone.
That's what's going on here. I don't Know of anyone, (regardless of Eddie's statements) that thought Kmart/Sears would be around for more than 1 More Year. And that's pretty much what was happening.
People need to read between the lines. Let's Say I have a store that sells fax machines. I can try to convince my employees that I will try to make our store as good as possible, I will carry the best fax machines, have the best customer service, invest in my store, whatever. But none of that changes the fact, that, well, most people are not looking to buy fax machines now, because people prefer using email.
Similarly, not defending the clown, but Eddie can stand on his head, and try his level best, but most people are simply not interested in entering a Sears or Kmart These Days. There's nothing he can do about that. The stores will close. Shame on people who thought Other Wise, as I sure didn't. I Knew this place was Fatally doomed, since around 2012. Just surprised it took this long.
That Said, I feel for the people affected, but again, like in my fax machine example, people move on to other things, and get better jobs. I don't Know too many people thinking we should abandon email and go back to sending faxes just to preserve some jobs selling fax machines (or VCR's, 8 track players, or what have you).
For the record, I have a fax machine, for that old school guy that insists I fax some paperwork to him, because he hates email. I actually use it once or twice per Year, LOL, so it still gets a workout. :)

We are getting two executive visits, former RVP this week and current RVP next week. We are a Kmart store in the Northeast, it doesn’t necessarily mean you are closing, although I would think that is an inevitable conclusion . You would think they would just leave you alone to sell whatever merchandise you are getting in and have left before Christmas. They come into the store with the same expectations as they had 10 + years ago when we had 1,000+ stores. As another poster stated, maybe that is our problem. They still talk about the floors , as if that will make a difference at this point. The money they are spending on traveling is also an unnecessary expense. 47 Kmarts left on the mainland and we need executive visitation every two weeks?!

@2gnp... I see your point. And I respect your opinion. It still is wrong though, how this is all ending up. EL should have been honest and upfront about things, instead of giving people false hope that he was gonna resurrect the company.

Big shots touring. Heard if they visit your store, look out it's over. Making announcements soon.

https://www.wxii12.com/article/publix-to-anchor-a-new-shopping-center-in-burlington-2021-holly-hill-mall/30118414

@2oes Kmart/Sears were already Destroyed. And even IF he is Known for Destroying them, nobody really cares about those companies anyway. Do people sit around discussing who Destroyed Woolworths, Caldors, Bradlees, Ames, Jamesway, Corvetz, Shopko, Pamida, Duckwall, Alco, and so many 1000's of other defunct companies? No, these are obsolete companies that are in the trash heaps of retail memories, nobody really misses those stores. Life moves on. Do we consider how DVDs destroyed VCRs (well I still have a VCR but just Sayin', LOL....)?
I mean things move on. Kmart was gonzo when I worked there in 2001, long before Ed was ever involved. I worked in a busted, broken down, filthy store, with shelving from 1970's, falling ceiling tiles, and buckets placed around the store on Rainy Days because the roof leaked (I kid you not). This company was done long before Ed came along. He, if anything, prolonged its misery long past its useful Shelf Date. Kmart/Sears is about as relevant to anyone TODAY, as rotary phones. Sure, a nice collectors item, or novelty, but nothing that anyone is interested in or cares about as anything with a real, useful purpose.
They've had their Time. That was complete somewhere around 1998 Or So. They're irrelevant to anything now. There is nothing Sears or Kmart sells (online or in stores) that is not available for a better deal somewhere else. Ins hort, both brands have zero reasons to exist now. Ed should pull the plug before the market pulls it for him. It's over and this brand deserves it's Demise. Zero sympathy.

@2sln Whether he made a big deal of keeping stores open, or not, it's his private company and he can do whatever he wants with it. Nobody is "owed" a job at Sears or Kmart. He can do what he wants with his company, he can sell real estate, he can close the stores and invite his grandmother to live in them, he can turn them into an amusement park, or strip club, he can do what he wants. Even if he lied about wanting to keep stores open, that isn't a crime. He can always change his mind.

To put it simply, if your son owned a lemonade stand, and he's Paying his buddies to help him sell lemonade, but he finds he is losing Money, he can close down that lemonade stand whenever he wants. He is not obligated to continue losing Money out of pity for his friends. When he no longer needs their services, the relationship ends. That's how free markets, and supply/demand work. Ed's not running Charities. If I were in his shoes, and I found I can make More $ selling the properties than running it, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'm trying to make Loot for myself, not trying to be obligated to maintain jobs for someone to ringa Cash register for me. Those jobs are a means to an end, not an end to itself. As greedy as it may sound, every job that Kmart/Sears provides is designed to make Ed A Profit. Every shelf stocker, every truck unloader, all of them. If he is not making A Profit, he does not need to keep people in those jobs. They'll simply have to go work somewhere else.......

His reputation will be permanently damaged as EL will be forever known as the man who destroyed Sears and Kmart. No amount of money can repair a damaged reputation because no business will ever want to work with him.

@2ehu: except in this case EL made kind of a big deal about saving those 425 stores. So if there were no conditions on this bankruptcy sale, (I am surprised and I didn’t know that) then closing up what’s left is sure gonna open EL up to questions that at this point, he doesn’t need or want.

Our Sears In Michigan has also been getting clothing shipped by UPS also..... tons of boxes in addition to the truck.

The logistics of the remaining sears in Michigan is insane.

LOL, maybe a few Sears might stay, but Kmart is done. They have 59 freaking stores (47 in the US), spread out in all crazy locations 100's of miles apart, in some cases. It simply, logistically, cant continue. This is the map that dude made. I think he didn't yet remove Temple City from it:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1iwlHbzIegctLw4QRvrLSaqAW-MLrENgY&ll=34.448299245102724%2C-97.19436644999996&z=4

The stores are run down because of reinvesting in them uncle Eddie bought back stock with hundreds of million Dollars.

@2ehu Yep, this. These id–tic stores are all closing, can't see why Eddie or anyone else for that matter, would want these goofy stores open anyway. They are the most run down, filthy places one can see and every single one of them should be closed, because hardly anyone shops there anyway, especially Kmarts. They should focus on online shopping, perhaps, that's where people shop now anyway. These stores are obsolete, and I don't blame Ed for closing them and selling real estate. I'd do the same.