Arkansas lost the majority of its Kmarts in the massive nationwide closings almost ten years ago. We only have a handful left in the entire state.
They’re predicting another 100 Kmarts and Sears closings this coming year. I think its a huge mistake. They’ve already wiped out their presence in smaller cities and town. There’s places in Arkansas where Walmart is the only major Department Store retailer within a hundred or more miles. I’d bet its like that in most states too.
Are we going to be left with only Walmart as our discount department store retail choice? We do have a few high end department stores like Khol’s, Sears, and Dillard’s. Sears stores are closing too.
We do have Targets. :rolleyes: I’ve never liked Target. Their stock is unpredictable. They don’t have a wide selection like Walmart and Kmart.
Fingers crossed that Little Rock doesn’t lose the last Kmart we have left. Our city area had 4 Kmarts for over thirty years until the massive closings almost a decade ago.
Hmmm. I hope our store survives the cut. I was in what is probably the next closest K-Mart (about 20 miles away) a couple of weeks before Christmas, and they had used shelving to shrink the floor space by probably a third. Reading your link, I am taking this as a Very Bad Sign for that particular store.
After suffering through poor to horrific service for many years at both K-mart and Sears I am not surprised.
I have refused to visit either store for the past 10 years or so.
Has the service improved at all in either store ?
I think it’s a shame. Sears still has solid brand names in Craftsman, Die Hard, Kenmore and others. But the stores are dreary and depressing and have seen little investment in years. They could have revived the brand and made the stores as pleasant as Target stores appear to be. Or they could have followed the example of J.C. Penney, which hired the head of Apple stores to be its CEO and which is also teaming up with Martha Stewart to make its stores more relevant.
I don’t see any reason to go to the K-Mart on Rodney Parham in Little Rock. The place isn’t kept up very well and they don’t offer anything I can’t get from other stores in the area.
There is one in Milford, MA that they can haul and and destroy if they haven’t put it on the list already. KMART used to be a good store to have there before there was a building boom of other retailers over the last few years. Now, it is one of the most depressing stores you can walk into. There are hardly ever more than a handful of customers puttering around cracked floors while basking in the bizarrely unnatural lighting.They don’t really need cashiers most of the time because no one seems to buy anything. Tumbleweeds roll through the regular checkout lanes. You can check out at the customer service desk if you insist. I have seen morgues that were more festive. They need to reclaim that space and return it back to nature or build a modern shopping complex on it.
It’s been my experience that KMarts are all disorganized and they all seem to smell funny. I quit going to them years ago.
As for Sears, earlier this year, my husband wanted to buy a tool chest on wheels. He found the one he wanted. It was on sale. The sales clerks (two tried to help us) couldn’t find the chest in any color anywhere! And they couldn’t find any information about back orders or future availability. A week later, it was still shown as on sale online, but we couldn’t place an online order. If that’s typical of Sears, it’s no wonder they’re about to crash and burn.
Retail is a competitive business. If you can’t provide what your customers want, they’ll go elsewhere.
I can remember when Kmart even sold lumber. The one that was closest to me had plywood, 2x4 studs, and trim molding. That was in the late 70’s. Very handy because back then hardware stores closed at 5pm or 6pm. Kmart was convenient to pick up material for a small home project after work. This was long, long before Home Depot showed up. Kmart remodeled in the early 80’s and eliminated much of their hardware. That particular location closed back around 2006.
I thought Kmart was silly trying to compete with Walmart’s Supercenter approach. If I want groceries I get them at the grocery store. No way am I battling the crowds and limited parking at Walmart for groceries. Saving a few pennies isn’t worth the hassle.
I agree with others that both Kmart and Sears stores in my area are just depressing: usually empty of customers, and looking very aged and worn inside.
I remember 20 years ago and Montgomery Ward had the same feel before finally closing for good.
Stores really need to stay relevant and foster a popular appeal in order to stay in business. If I were CEO, I’d start dumping piles of money on popular show producers to have the shows seen in episodes and get the company back into the collective mentality of the masses.
The guy who bought Sears was looking to make a killing, by selling off the real estate. Now that market is depressed, and he hasn’t done a thing to improve the retail operations.
Face it, KMART/SEARs has been left in the dust by Target, JC Penny’s, Walmart.
I predict a slow death for KMART.
Sears MIGHT survive, but only if it is sold to someone who knows retailing.
We have a K-Mart/Sears near us and almost never go there. Poor selection, not particularly great prices and the Sears section looks like some damned warehouse with refurbished seconds.
The only reason they haven’t closed is because they lucked out big time - Trader Joe’s opened next door and they get a few more people hitting both stores (although certainly not the same demographic).
Sorry to see businesses closing, but compared to Target (selection better) and Walmart (cheaper), I have to say K-Mart loses to both and perhaps deserves to disappear.
I hope they close all the ones left in the Peoria & Suburbs area - they are all dinosaurs.
Re the OP, just because Walmart might be the only “big box” in your area doesn’t make it the only way to buy things. Without Kmart, in areas too rural for target, etc, the competition is just online stores like Amazon.com and smaller store convenience type competitors like Dollar General.