Sears is the last place I would go to buy an appliance. Every other place I know has lower prices and more knowledgeable staff.
If our KMarts close down I will despair as that’s the ONLY PLACE I can find “normal-looking” clothes at a reasonable price. As far as I’m concerned Target doesn’t sell adult clothing, it’s pretty much all teenager stuff. (They used to have a really nice sort of upscale casual line called “Merona” and they phased it out. Now they have all these bullshit trendy designers doing halfassed designs for them while they concentrate on their actual bread & butter.) I noticed Kmart has started to stick its toe into the trendy teenage clothes by introducing a Selena Gomez line. (Really Selena? KMART?) I had to laugh though, because the clothes are even uglier than what she actually wears, and I didn’t think such a thing was possible. I haven’t been to a Wal-Mart in over ten years because they’re disgustingly filthy, have horrible business practices, and in this area frankly attract an unsavory clientele. (There have been various muggings and shootings at one in the last few months.) I don’t notice a price difference between Kmart and Wal-mart either, but to be fair I usually buy groceries and stuff at a grocery store.
The two KMarts we have are organized differently so it’s a bit disorienting when you first walk in if you’re expecting the clothes to be to the left when they’re actually towards the rear, but I’m not a moron. I can figure it out. Other than that they’re pretty clean and well-lit. Yeah, they’re older stores but I really go to a store for how flashy it is.
That having been said, for most basic stuff I go to Target, if only because there’s one right down the street from me. Not happy with their support of non-gay-friendly causes though.
Sears doesn’t even register on my radar for some reason. I think I consider it an “Old Person” store for whatever reason. Both ours are located in malls so I don’t shun them if I’m looking for something and don’t find it anywhere else, but 99% of the time I have better luck at Kohl’s or even J.C. Penny. I just don’t do much shopping at that kind of “store” I guess. You know, like a department store as opposed to a “discount” store.
Target still sells Merona. Hell, I’m wearing a Merona shirt I picked up the other day as we speak. Usually, the Merona stuff is in the middle of the store space. Think of it this way: if the women’s department is a big rectangle standing on one of it’s short ends, the first part of the rectangle (probably half) is young trendy stuff-- then, in the remaining half, you’ll have half it being Merona, then it’ll go into maternity and plus sizes. This is true for every Target I’ve been to in Bakersfield (3), one in Los Angeles, and two in Las Vegas. So, while it may not be true for ALL Targets, I’m comfortable saying following the above plan will lead you somewhere near the Merona 
Merona online. 38 pages worth.
Interesting! Both the Targets near me have apparently phased it out for some reason - or I’m thinking of the wrong name/line entirely. (Floorspace, maybe? San Francisco area - square footage is at a premium.) It literally goes: Converse clothes/Massimo/Issac Misrahi straight into the maternity department. Around the corner: fitness clothes. Across from that, the giganto bra/“panty”/sleepwear department.
From what I understand in most Targets it’s unusual to have the maternity section in-store and it’s more often a catalog/on-line only thing? (Heard this from a friend who has actually had children in different parts of the country. - Same with Old Navy.)
My biggest beef with Target I forgot to mention is that all of them have added grocery departments. (No doubt displacing something I haven’t noticed yet, lolol!) That means instead of the guy in front of you buying his bale of TP, his case of motor oil and his Furious Five DVD, he’s now also adding 12 individual cups of yogurt, some bananas, Capri Sun for his kids, 4 boxes of cereal, 4 boxes of Hot Pockets, etc, etc, etc. It now takes 25% longer to get in and out of a Target since they’ve done this! BOOO!
I’m 53. When I was a kid, my folks did the majority of their shopping for clothes, appliances, outdoor stuff, etc at Sears or via their catalog. When I grew up and moved out my first appliances were from Sears. In my 30s(?) I guess I became less and less happy with them and no longer even think of them when considering retailers.
Hmm, I’ve actually never been to a Target that didn’t have a maternity and plus section. Now, I’ve seen incredibly small ones (just a rack or two), but they’ve all had 'em. Old Navy definitely only sells plus and maternity online though.
You’re probably right about floor space in San Fran being the reason for the cutdown in your guys’ clothes. I bet if you went to a Target outside the city you’d find Merona. I mean, not that I’d travel for it heh, but if you happen to pass a Target on the way to something, definitely pop in.
The first 79 closings have been officially announced. A mix of Sears and Kmart locations.
PDF file
http://searsholdings.com/about/122711_close.pdf
So far Arkansas has been spared. We got hit really hard with the Kmart closings a decade ago. If they close any more Ark stores they may as well announce they are leaving the state totally. I think there’s less than five Kmarts left in the entire state.
Huh; so far my stores aren’t being closed. I’d have thought those sorry things would have been chopped.
Sears used to be the only place around here that sold quality flannel shirts that fit my dad (long arms). Haven’t been in the place since he died twenty years ago.
They don’t have a thing I can’t get elsewhere, better quality, selection, and price. Plus the place is depressing with all the other dead stores around. Same goes for KMart.
Had to spend Christmas at my in-laws in Ripon, WI, and we needed an ethernet cable on Christmas Eve. In that town, the choice for shopping is pretty much Kmart or nothing.
I have to say, that store was the cleanest, neatest, most well-stocked Kmart I have seen in my adult life. In the Twin Cities, Kmarts are dirty trash holes. And this was Christmas Eve, when I would expect stores to be a huge overshopped mess.
I guess Kmart does all right when it is the only game in town. It’s when they have to play with Target and Walmart when they don’t even try.
The one closest to me is like this. Except for the fact that it’s full of STUFF, and it’s good stuff. It was originally a Kmart, and pretty busy at the time, years ago, before WalMart and Kohls and their ilk moved in big-time. Then it became a Sears, then a few months ago it reverted back to Kmart (with no notable change in the merchandise; I mean, it’s the same stuff, for the most part).
I love shopping there because it’s way easy to park–huge lot, few other cars. There are not hordes of shoppers, and when I go in there to get stuff, the stuff I’m after is almost always there.
So I’m pretty sure it’s going to be high on the list of the ones scheduled for closing. I am bummed, but I think part of the business plan is not just merchandise and parking spaces, but customers.
My biggest beef about Kmart is their irritating sales of *buy one, get second item for 50% off. * I refuse to be forced to buy two items to save 25%.
- No, I don’t need 2 pairs of shoes, I want one pair at 25% off!* Screw that.