# When will Kmart go completely out of business? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 18, 2016, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929 "2016-10-18T08:06:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/41 "2016-10-20T04:38:46Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Sears was actually a good business until Kmart bought them out, and then everything went down hill. My uncle worked there for years, and at one point they had quality shit. (Craftsman tools, for example, their appliances, etc) They still carry the Craftsman line. I think that’s what is keeping them afloat. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/42 "2016-10-20T12:56:28Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > IME most KMarts are in dingy strip centers in dingy parts of town. They tend to be the “anchor” biggest box of the center they’re in. With perhaps a grocery store as second box, then a bunch of storefront-sized generic retail, take-out, etc. > > A consequence of that is that if the anchor is “boarded up” the other retailers suffer a lot and pretty quickly fail as well. And in those dingier parts of town it’s difficult to find anyone wanting to open a replacement biggish box store. It’s too much SF in one place for the total volume and velocity of retail spending in the catchment area. > > So instead some get converted to flea markets and such. Some end up as seasonal Halloween or Christmas stores and that’s it. Otherwise the big box sits empty. > > So in general unlocking the value of the underlying land involves removing (at least some of) the existing buildings and putting something else there. Which could be apartments or it could be new smaller retail. Zoning plays a big role here. As does the availability of capital to recapitalize the land with new buildings. > > Certainly some sites will have good potential to redevelop. IMO most of the others not so much. It also seems to me that if they don’t redevelop soon while interest rates are low, they’re not going to be able to afford to do so once they’re borrowing at 2-3% more than today’s amazingly low rates. > Tldr: I doubt that a lot of KMart’s depressed half-blighted land in depressed half-blighted areas is all that much of a future gold mine for Lampert _et al_. It’s more likely to be a property tax-driven anchor that sinks the whole thing. In Colonie, NY, there’s an odd strip of land. (The New Karner/Central intersection for those in the area.) It had a KMart with a couple other empty stores. In what is technically a separate development there’s the shell of an old grocery store, a few more little business, a Big Lots, and the shiny new grocery store the chain built that moved from the old store. I don’t know what will ever go in that old grocery store, as it has the same problems as a closed KMart or the like. More importantly, the KMart finally closed entirely and the entire strip of buildings in that lot was razed. CarMax is working to build a dealership there, but it won’t be open until 2017. Redevelopment was going to happen in that area, but a car dealership was a surprise when it was announced. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/43 "2016-10-20T13:00:04Z")
I think your experience with that lot will be typical all across the country. If Lampert paid little enough for the company he’ll do OK off the land. Eventually. Most of those guys are quick buck artists and it isn’t obvious to me how to make a quick buck off repurposing rundown shopping centers nationwide. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/44 "2016-10-20T13:09:27Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Radio Shack will live forever. It has no competitors. > The reason is simple: nobody knows what they do, nobody ever goes there, nobody pays attention to them. > That makes their stores the perfect cover doing something profitable, like drug dealing, or money laundering. 🙂 Hmmm. I thought Radio Shack went under a few years back. They closed all of the stores in my area… at least 10 that I can think of. Although, to tell the truth, I don’t know if the one in our mall is still there, as I haven’t been in the mall for at least two years. I had no idea there were still RS stores. As for K-Mart, it really is crappy now. I stopped in probably six months ago, and it was depressing. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2016, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/45 "2016-10-22T01:10:16Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > To go away, Kmart has to liquidate the land it owns. No, the stores simply have to close so one cannot shop there anymore. My thread my rules. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Quatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc8723/32.png) [@Mr\_Quatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Quatro)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/46 "2016-10-22T16:25:43Z")
I put three years or less, but not to go out of business … I think someone will purchase the stores and make them successful again. They were great lower middle class stores before Sears took over … adding Sears stuff didn’t make them a class higher just easier to buy tools and Martha Stewart products lol ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/47 "2016-10-24T13:18:02Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > No, the stores simply have to close so one cannot shop there anymore. My thread my rules. 😃 But even if the store is closed you could still go there and shop for the land. Your thread, but my right to fight the hypothetical. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/48 "2016-10-25T06:52:23Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > But even if the store is closed you could still go there and shop for the land. Your thread, but my right to fight the hypothetical. 😃 How many people who shop at Kmart are in the market to buy it’s land? Is that a blue light special? Oddly I actually went in to a Kmart 3 days ago which I usually avoid doing because it’s a shithole. Miserable. Carts and boxes all over the place. Long lines at the register. They still give you 5 long slips of paper for a receipt which is ridiculous. I otherwise wouldn’t go in there but Craftsman work boots were on sale and there isn’t a Sears anywhere around here. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/49 "2016-11-12T05:50:06Z")
A few weeks ago, I went to Sears to get a filter for an old Craftsman shop vacuum I have. While I was checking out, they asked me if I wanted to sign up for the Sears My Way promotional program,and for some reason I said what the hell and did so. Net result was that I now get about 6 e-mails a week touting surprise points and coupons that I can use. Turns out it’s not useful for me but not really a big deal, I wasn’t expecting much. But here’s the thing, for about 25 years I’ve sort of suffered with cramming a huge amount of tools in a small tool box, and since I’ve recently received a small promotion at work I figured that I’d finally get a bigger toolbox, specifically the Craftsman heavy duty 13 draw stacked combination. It’s available for $299 and I’ve wanted something like it for years. So today I decided to buy it. I first tried to buy it online with in-store pick up, but the Sears website is a mess, and it won’t accept any of the special deals that Sears has been emailing me since I signed up for the Sears My Way program. Sort of annoying, but I decided that I’d just go to my local Sears (which the website said had in stock). And it was true, they did have them in stock. But the store’s POS system had it listed at a higher price than online, so the poor salesclerk had to go to the website, confirm the price, and then price match all three pieces in the local POS system, and then call a manager to approve the price matches. No kidding, this took 20 minutes. I was close to just telling the clerk thanks but no thanks, but I did end up buying the tool chest. Of course, I then had to head over to the warehouse pick up point, where I had to scan the receipt bar code at a computer, which promptly froze up when I scanned my code. Took about 10 minutes to get that sorted out. The entire process was a huge pain in the ass for a simple purchase. On the other hand, the tool chest is pretty nice. And the local store had a big set up for holiday specials on tools, and there appeared to be some pretty good deals available. But actually checking out and paying for stuff is a joke. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/50 "2016-11-12T12:11:52Z")
Our local Kmart closed a couple of years ago. Miserable, depressing place, even if my nieces/nephews worked there through high school (they made one of my nephews an assistant manager at the age of 16, I kid you not – part time, of course, since he was still in school. That should give you an idea of how desperate they were for help.) We still have a Sears down at out local mall. I haven’t been there in eons, so I have no idea how it’s doing or where it’s going. The Kmart became a Nordstrom Rack store. The parking lot is always packed. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/51 "2016-11-12T13:23:56Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > … > Oddly I actually went in to a Kmart 3 days ago which I usually avoid doing because it’s a shithole. Miserable. Carts and boxes all over the place. Long lines at the register. They still give you 5 long slips of paper for a receipt which is ridiculous. I otherwise wouldn’t go in there but Craftsman work boots were on sale and there isn’t a Sears anywhere around here. Triggered by this thread I stopped by the local KMart a few days ago. It’s in an older but upscale neighborhood. Lots of now-retired middle managers, small businessmen, etc. It was late morning on a weekday when I came by. Compared to a Target it was more crammed full of stuff with narrower aisles and the floors looked pretty tired but had been recently swept/mopped. The merchandise looked more downscale, but not hugely. There were several workers wandering the aisles and several customers actually shopping. A couple people were waiting to check out, but the supply vs. demand for cashiers seemed about right. One area was piled high with all the Christmas decoration stuff. I now remember that they were the go-to place for cheap Xmas decs years ago. Seems they still are. In all, not disgusting but a bit tired and old-fashioned feeling. OTOH, based on the neighborhood demographics vs. KMart’s typical I’d bet this is one of the nicer KMarts left in existence. The store really doesn’t fit the neighborhood very well. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2016, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/52 "2016-11-12T13:40:21Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > The poll should have: “What? Kmart is still in business?” My reaction was “What? Woolworth’s is still in business?” I thought they died off (in Canada, at least) decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/53 "2016-11-13T10:33:19Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > OK, this is going to require an embarrassing admission. In one scene of the Adam Sandler film Grown Ups 2, the main characters visit [Kmart](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FD6faQ_D80). Except this Kmart is unlike any I’ve ever seen. It’s bright with merchandise that is displayed well and no pallets of crap in the middle of the aisles. If their real-life stores looked like this, the company would not be teetering on the verge of bankruptcy. The NBC sitcom “Superstore” is filmed in a Kmart in Burbank, CA (the signage is temporarily replaced to turn it into the fictional Cloud 9 big-box store). My reaction was similar to yours: if all Kmarts looked as clean, bright, and well-organized as Cloud 9, the chain would be thriving instead of hanging on by its fingernails. Every real Kmart I’ve been in has been a grungy, depressing mess. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/54 "2016-11-13T11:18:20Z")
To quote Charles Babbitt, “K-Mart sucks.” ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/55 "2016-11-13T16:44:30Z")
I was honestly surprised a few weeks ago to see a K-Mart near me, probably the first one I saw open in five years or so. Made me think of going to K-Mart as a kid, 30 years ago. Even then it was uniquely depressing, and I used to joke that staying there too long would turn you into a K-Martian. Yeah, it was a terrible joke. I was 10. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/56 "2016-11-13T17:10:48Z")
heh we just had this thread about 2 months ago… ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/57 "2016-11-13T17:21:37Z")
lol nm same thread heh , ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/58 "2016-11-28T06:22:35Z")
Bumping this thread: Uber has partnered with Sears, so you can earn Sears bonus points by using Uber services. [https://searsholdings.com/press-releases/pr/1990](https://searsholdings.com/press-releases/pr/1990) Why not, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/59 "2016-11-28T15:12:43Z")
I was surprised to see K-Mart sponsoring Sunday holiday movies on Ion television. They were also doing live-action QVC-ish commercials for K-Mart merchandise every few commercial breaks. We still have one big, busy K-Mart store in our metro area, although another one that was close to our house closed in 2014. The now-closed store was unkempt, and had subpar staff … but had great sale prices, especially on electronics, school supplies, and Xmas toys/decorations. Their clothing for kids was also markedly improved from, say, a low point the 1980s. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929/60 "2016-11-29T05:38:08Z")
If they have stores in your area, why not? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-kmart-go-completely-out-of-business/768929.md?page=4)