I have heard from a reliable source high up at the mall that Simon MAll will be buying back, or not renewing the lease from Sears Peabody, MA. This person says this will happen in 2019.
Now that is still 9 months away, I didnt think it would be that long, but maybe they will start to close up sooner, they already emptied out the top level a few months ago.
Anyone work at the store? I left about 2 years ago after 25 years.
The poster was referring to Saugus with the bowling alley. Not Peabody.
Get your story correct, Saugus was gonna put an bowling alley in there top floor, not in peabody. The problem in Peabody is the top floor has no outside access.
I'm pretty sure there is always an elevator and a small stairwell in addition to the escalator. So they could still have offices upstairs.
The escalator sounds like what they did in Saugus before removing it entirely. That was due to the consolidation to one floor. The bowling alley was going upstairs until people in the town protested & that had a problem getting a liquor license.
I doubt the office are still up there as they have the now nonworking up escalator blocked by a display of jewelry. The down escalator is now on the jewelry side also, had to walk in a circle after going to the wrong side at first. Childrens clothing is now in the basement with not one shopper. Optical and photo are still open downstairs. I noticed photo was now closed 2 days a week so perhaps they arent as busy as they had hoped.
That store is in bad shape and does poorly for sales even by Sears standards. The mall has changed over the years and I could see them getting something more current in there. Primark would do well and the nearest ones are Boston & Burlington.
I didn't know they emptied the top floor. I haven't been there in awhile. Are the offices still up there?
I recently left after over 20 years of service, the management is horrible. I think its gonna be tough for sears since everyone knows the mall would like to see sears go and put something high end in its place. The store is run down and has no maint. dept.
According to my source. The deal is done for this sears anyway. I'm guessing they will close down sooner than when the store switches hands.
According to a post on here a week or so ago, Simon and Sears are negotiating a huge deal for Simon to get a lot of Sears real estate. Personally, I don't think it will happen on a large scale.