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Title: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on March 12, 2017, 04:24:18 PM Did I tell you all that where I live in Iowa we're losing our Mart of K in a few weeks?
It was the first one to open in Iowa when it opened in 1962. It's been obvious now for a while that K Mart was declining fast these past few years but it's still sad to see them leaving here. Many a Saturday afternoon was spent with the parents shopping at the Mart of K for various goods. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: El Misfit on March 12, 2017, 09:38:19 PM My mom grew up in Illinois and her mother would say "Honey, we're going to the cheap store." Since i was born in a time that Wal-mart was a thing, K Mart seemed to be the poverty level of Wal-Mart, so I have no real sadness to see it gone.
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on March 13, 2017, 09:49:24 AM My mom grew up in Illinois and her mother would say "Honey, we're going to the cheap store." Since i was born in a time that Wal-mart was a thing, K Mart seemed to be the poverty level of Wal-Mart, so I have no real sadness to see it gone. I do remember when I was a kid K-Mart actually didn't seem to be all that bad. I remember playing the Atari 2600 demo system they had there and how there was always a bit of a crowd around the system. It was only the past few years that they began their downward slide. When we first got the Wally World K-mart seemed to be a bit more expensive. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: ER on March 13, 2017, 10:08:05 AM When I was little, real little, like maybe three, I went into a K-mart with my mother, and as we were walking along this blue flashing light went off attached to this push cart, and suddenly people were like sucked out of the rest of the store by the gravitational pull of this event, and in seconds a crowd had gathered to watch this Japanese man take something called a "Ginsu knife" and slice through soft drink cans with it, and chop up a wooden plank, and show the knife was still razor-keen enough to slice an egg into paper-thin sections, and I was absolutely flummoxed it was so cool to go into a store, usually a boring place to me at that age, and be utterly entertained, so I left that day thinking K-mart was some sort of surreal amusement park, and I loved it. For years and years that early impression stuck with me, that it was a sort of David Lynch-like fantasyland, part carnival, part store, and no matter how many jokes I heard made about it later in life, it always held a fondness for me. I'll be sorry to hear when the last K-mart finally shuts down.
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on March 13, 2017, 11:43:53 AM When I was little, real little, like maybe three, I went into a K-mart with my mother, and as we were walking along this blue flashing light went off attached to this push cart, and suddenly people were like sucked out of the rest of the store by the gravitational pull of this event, and in seconds a crowd had gathered to watch this Japanese man take something called a "Ginsu knife" and slice through soft drink cans with it, and chop up a wooden plank, and show the knife was still razor-keen enough to slice an egg into paper-thin sections, and I was absolutely flummoxed it was so cool to go into a store, usually a boring place to me at that age, and be utterly entertained, so I left that day thinking K-mart was some sort of surreal amusement park, and I loved it. For years and years that early impression stuck with me, that it was a sort of David Lynch-like fantasyland, part carnival, part store, and no matter how many jokes I heard made about it later in life, it always held a fondness for me. I'll be sorry to hear when the last K-mart finally shuts down. That would be kind of neat to turn one of the closed stores into a K-mart museum, and it set up to showcase K-mart during it's half century of existence. If I had the $$$ I'd be in touch with the owners of the building to do a lease and with Sears/K-Mart for permission to use the logos and such and covert the local K-Mart into a museum after it closes later this month. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: Derf on March 14, 2017, 08:03:04 AM I worked at our local K Mart back when I was in high school. That was back in the days when the blue light specials ER mentioned were a regular occurrence. I even got to announce a few. I started in the garden department despite not knowing a thing about gardening, and then I was moved to toys. Working toys in a store like that was awful. I would straighten an aisle, move on to the next aisle, and by the time I finished there, the first aisle was destroyed again. The toy department was used as a babysitter by a lot of parents back then. I only lasted one summer.
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: Paquita on March 14, 2017, 10:32:16 AM So sorry to hear that! I love me some KMart! There was one in walking distance from my house when I lived in Chicago, but they don't have them out in the suburbs.. just a bunch of Walmarts which I'd rather not set foot in unless there is no other choice. The KMart by my old place is still there and they opened an Olive Garden next to it, so I imagine that has to help business. I still go there when I'm in town! Though the curtains they sell there are one panel per bag as they are in most stores (I hate this), they are actually priced like one curtain so you can afford the two that you need to dress a window.
There were two goofy guys that worked in the garden center one spring that introduced themselves to me and my friend as "Tuna and Elmo" and we noticed a lot of the plant signs were misspelled. I don't think they worked there very long. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on March 28, 2017, 08:59:35 AM They're gone now, the last day was March 26. I drove past this morning and the signs were already off the building at the former Mart of K, as well as the sign along the highway.
Like I said I'll miss them. It'll be different around here with out a Mart of K. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 04, 2017, 03:19:37 PM When you get as old as I, then you have older memories of your oldest shopping experiences. Sometimes even then, places that had been around for decades. Places that no longer exist or exist under different names and/or conditions.
Gone A&P W. T. Grant Now Woolworth now Footlocker S. S. Kresge now K Mart On life support J. C. Penny's Monkey Wards (aka Montgomery Wards) Sears Roebuck Gone from this area Hallmark stores Warner Bros. store And don't ask me about bookstores. Okay. Ask me about bookstores. Barnes and Noble from 4 stories to 1 store in this area. Still better than . . . B. Dalton's Book stop Border's Waldenbooks and a couple of independent bookstores. All of which are gone from this area. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: lester1/2jr on April 05, 2017, 09:27:03 AM people are buying stuff online. I deliver stuff for Google express which is less of a threat because I just deliver random stuff from the supermarket. . Retail though is dying they have to do something. Cities should like give them tax breaks or something unless they want empty space everywhere. or just endless nail salons and pizza
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on April 05, 2017, 04:46:39 PM When you get as old as I, then you have older memories of your oldest shopping experiences. Sometimes even then, places that had been around for decades. Places that no longer exist or exist under different names and/or conditions. Gone A&P W. T. Grant Now Woolworth now Footlocker S. S. Kresge now K Mart On life support J. C. Penny's Monkey Wards (aka Montgomery Wards) Sears Roebuck Gone from this area Hallmark stores Warner Bros. store And don't ask me about bookstores. Okay. Ask me about bookstores. Barnes and Noble from 4 stories to 1 store in this area. Still better than . . . B. Dalton's Book stop Border's Waldenbooks and a couple of independent bookstores. All of which are gone from this area. Yep a lot of things. Sounds like Footlocker is still around and has had some profitable years lately, their stock price is up a bit from what it was a few years ago. Actually the original Montgomery Ward went under back in late 2000, and closed all their stores then. An Iowa company bought the name and launched an online retailer in 2004. They were bought by Swiss Colony a few years later. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: BoyScoutKevin on April 10, 2017, 04:07:07 PM Yeah, you are right, Sprite about a lot going out of business. Since I moved to the area in which I lived, we have lost our 2 regional department store chains: Monnig's and Stripling & Cox. Food Lion became Fiesta, and Minyard's became Albertson's, and of the 8 supermarkets within my shopping radius, 3 of them, the latest being Kroger have ceased to exist totally. I don't know whether this says anything about where I live, but those are ones, farthest, though within driving distance, of where I live now. It makes one wonder when the other shoe is going to drop.
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: ER on April 11, 2017, 01:51:34 PM (I've noticed sometimes store and product names change from region to region: Hardee's/Carl's Jr., Shoney's/Frisch's, Ede's Ice Cream/Dreyer's Ice Cream, etc. You're just going for the sass calling it the "Mart of K" and K-Marts where you live aren't really called "Mart of K" are they?)
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on April 12, 2017, 07:28:02 AM (I've noticed sometimes store and product names change from region to region: Hardee's/Carl's Jr., Shoney's/Frisch's, Ede's Ice Cream/Dreyer's Ice Cream, etc. You're just going for the sass calling it the "Mart of K" and K-Marts where you live aren't really called "Mart of K" are they?) Yep, that's correct. The stores where I lived were referred to as K-Mart. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: ER on April 12, 2017, 08:54:39 AM (I've noticed sometimes store and product names change from region to region: Hardee's/Carl's Jr., Shoney's/Frisch's, Ede's Ice Cream/Dreyer's Ice Cream, etc. You're just going for the sass calling it the "Mart of K" and K-Marts where you live aren't really called "Mart of K" are they?) Yep, that's correct. The stores where I lived were referred to as K-Mart. Okay, thanks. lol Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: Pacman000 on May 10, 2017, 11:27:54 AM Let's remember happier times for K-Mart:
http://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/25/business/woolworth-calls-it-quits-on-woolco.html (http://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/25/business/woolworth-calls-it-quits-on-woolco.html) Not happier if you're a Woolworth's fan, but this is a K-Mart thread. :wink: Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on May 10, 2017, 03:04:29 PM Let's remember happier times for K-Mart: [url]http://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/25/business/woolworth-calls-it-quits-on-woolco.html[/url] ([url]http://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/25/business/woolworth-calls-it-quits-on-woolco.html[/url]) Not happier if you're a Woolworth's fan, but this is a K-Mart thread. :wink: Yeah, we used to have a Woolworth's in our local mall. We never went to the mall all that much when I was growing up so I was only in there a few times. They had left in the mid 80s. I know Woolworth's here in the US eventually became Foot Locker, and I think we had one for a while at the mall but they're gone too now. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: Trevor on May 11, 2017, 03:20:02 AM Let's remember happier times for K-Mart: [url]http://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/25/business/woolworth-calls-it-quits-on-woolco.html[/url] ([url]http://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/25/business/woolworth-calls-it-quits-on-woolco.html[/url]) Not happier if you're a Woolworth's fan, but this is a K-Mart thread. :wink: Yeah, we used to have a Woolworth's in our local mall. We never went to the mall all that much when I was growing up so I was only in there a few times. They had left in the mid 80s. I know Woolworth's here in the US eventually became Foot Locker, and I think we had one for a while at the mall but they're gone too now. Woolworths is still very active in South Africa. www.woolworths.co.za (http://www.woolworths.co.za) Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: ER on May 11, 2017, 09:18:29 AM I think this shows us that everything ends. Woolworth's, Life Magazine, Newsweek, News of the World, the WB, K-Mart, soon Sears, newspapers everywhere are teetering. Why one day Wal-Mart, Microsoft, Apple, the big three US broadcast networks will go too. So will western civilization, Shakespeare, even China will be gone one day. Eventually the sun will do its obesity thing and sizzle the planets, our galaxy will collide with the Andromeda galaxy, and supposedly the universe will implode. Nothing lasts except eternity, and some in the neo-Gnostical community that is science ask us to trust them on faith that we should not to be too sure of that.
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on May 11, 2017, 12:20:39 PM Let's remember happier times for K-Mart: [url]http://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/25/business/woolworth-calls-it-quits-on-woolco.html[/url] ([url]http://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/25/business/woolworth-calls-it-quits-on-woolco.html[/url]) Not happier if you're a Woolworth's fan, but this is a K-Mart thread. :wink: Yeah, we used to have a Woolworth's in our local mall. We never went to the mall all that much when I was growing up so I was only in there a few times. They had left in the mid 80s. I know Woolworth's here in the US eventually became Foot Locker, and I think we had one for a while at the mall but they're gone too now. Woolworths is still very active in South Africa. [url=http://www.woolworths.co.za]www.woolworths.co.za[/url] ([url]http://www.woolworths.co.za[/url]) I've noticed that too that they're active in places like South Africa and Australia. There's a separate K-Mart in Australia that was founded in part by the original US company but now has no connection to them. They are doing much, much better than the Mart of K here in the US and will probably be around long after Sears collapses. Last year they had A$470 million in income. Back when I worked at Wally world 20 years ago they started putting stores in Germany. They left Germany about 10 years ago. Main reason for the failure was that they just tried to drop Wally world into Germany and did not account (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-macaray/why-did-walmart-leave-ger_b_940542.html) for the cultural differences. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on May 11, 2018, 08:48:47 AM The Mart of K here is going to partially (http://www.kcrg.com/content/news/Former-K--set-for-new-VA-clinic-in-Dubuque-482339051.html) become a VA clinic.
Quote The new home for a VA clinic in Dubuque has been chosen at 2600 Dodge Street in Dubuque. The former KMart has been vacant for about one year, but now construction on the clinic is set to begin as early as next month. The new location would mean a quick check up for some veterans in the tri-state area, instead of spending a day traveling to and from Iowa City. Architects are already creating designs for the outside and inside of the building. Currently for some veterans in northeast Iowa, they describe their current check ups in Iowa City as all day events, but with a new clinic coming to Dubuque, it provides them a convenient resource to healthcare I knew that something was up with the ol Mart of K since they had covered up all the windows and had some vehicles parked by the building. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: Pacman000 on May 11, 2018, 01:08:23 PM I should note that Sears franchises are now owned by a separate company; even if the main Sears company fails the name will live on.
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: 316zombie on May 11, 2018, 08:02:26 PM that is great news , sprite! the VA needs far more rural clinics.
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: FatFreddysCat on May 12, 2018, 06:05:11 AM I worked for K-Mart for a couple of years in the late '80s/early '90s. I often say that the experience gave me a drinking problem, 20 extra pounds, and a 1000 percent increase in my hatred for humanity.
...that said, I'm kinda surprised that the Sears/K-Mart chain is still in existence. The merger of the two companies in the early '00s did neither of them any good. It seems like they've been circling the drain forever. My brother worked for Sears for many years -- but when the merger with KMart was about to happen, our uncle (who had been a big wig in Sears security, but was retired by this time) called him up and told him, and I quote -- "Get the f*** out of there. Eddie Lampert (incoming CEO) is going to RUIN that company." ...so my brother got out, and though he's jumped in and out of a couple of jobs since then, he's still glad he did. The Sears he used to work at closed for good at the end of last year. The K-Mart store I worked at is gone as well. Soon it'll be an all Wal-Mart/Amazon world. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: FatFreddysCat on May 12, 2018, 06:11:53 AM A fellow former K-Mart employee sent me this article a while back: apparently they still love K-Mart on the island of Guam. The store there is a tourist attraction!
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-last-place-on-earth-where-everyone-still-loves-kmart-guam-1516118140 (https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-last-place-on-earth-where-everyone-still-loves-kmart-guam-1516118140) Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on May 12, 2018, 09:09:08 PM I should note that Sears franchises are now owned by a separate company; even if the main Sears company fails the name will live on. Yeah Sears Hometown. We have one here. I haven't been in it yet. Haven't had much need to do so. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: Pacman000 on June 18, 2018, 11:15:08 PM http://www.hardwareretailing.com/sears-hometown-close-100-stores/ (http://www.hardwareretailing.com/sears-hometown-close-100-stores/)
Sears plans to close 100 hometown stores this year. :( Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on December 06, 2018, 04:11:38 PM And now the Sears Hometown store here is (http://www.telegraphherald.com/news/tri-state/article_647b0254-b570-5f0a-9561-8b973a8f1874.html) shutting down.
Quote For the second time in less than five years, a store bearing the Sears name is preparing to close its doors in Dubuque. Sears Hometown Store has commenced a liquidation sale and will close Dec. 23, according to owner Rick Jaeger. The closure will come less than 15 months after the store opened at 2535 Northwest Arterial. Never did get around to going there. Just never felt the need to do so. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on February 15, 2019, 11:25:00 AM Someone else decided to move (http://www.telegraphherald.com/news/tri-state/article_463647fc-f89d-57a3-8dbb-57625fb11546.html) into the western 1/3 of our former Mart of K. That being Joann Fabrics, who are going to move from their current location behind the mall.
They probably thought that would be a more visible spot than they were behind the mall and they are going to have more room. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on March 18, 2019, 02:28:17 PM And now we're going to lose our Ko of Shop (http://www.telegraphherald.com/news/breaking/article_a7f34591-9a02-5906-b554-c4917b0d4b97.html) too.
Quote Shopko Stores announced today that it will close all of its locations, including those in Dubuque and Dyersville, Iowa, and Lancaster, Wis. A press release states that, "despite the company's best efforts, it was unable to find a buyer" that would enable the stores to remain open. "As a result, Shopko will commence an orderly wind-down of its retail operations beginning this week," the release stated. "Further, the company is evaluating strategic options for its optical business." All stores are expected to close by June 16. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: Pacman000 on March 20, 2019, 04:57:14 PM Sad. Never been to ShopKo, but I've heard of them. Was impressed they survived when Woolco, Ames, etc didn't. Now... It's just sad, that's all.
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: 316zombie on March 23, 2019, 12:53:39 AM it really is, pac. western kansas will be hurt badly with the few remaining stores closing, in particular. there's not that many other choices out there.
Title: I'm banned Post by: MaratogaG on March 23, 2019, 06:26:25 AM [spam removed]
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: Alex on March 23, 2019, 08:13:28 AM Once was mildly amusing, but do you really think spamming the s**t multiple times will get you more customers? Anyway, I've passed the details of this website onto the NCA, so hopefully, they will shut it down.
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: Pacman000 on March 23, 2019, 11:49:26 AM The spam was probably posted automatically; AI has disadvantages besides HAL & Skynet.
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on March 24, 2019, 09:55:53 PM Sad. Never been to ShopKo, but I've heard of them. Was impressed they survived when Woolco, Ames, etc didn't. Now... It's just sad, that's all. I used to like them. Used to be that they seemed fairly nice and an actual alternative to Wally World or Target. They've gone down hill the past few years though. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on May 16, 2019, 01:46:08 PM I drove past our former Mart of K today and they had taken down the awning over the front entrance that used to mark the building as being the local Mart of K and had cut a hole in the east end of the building, presumably for the fabric store that's moving in later this year.
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on August 15, 2019, 09:47:01 PM The new VA clinic in our former Mart of K had a ribbon cutting and will start seeing patients in a few weeks.
https://kwwl.com/news/dubuque-news/2019/08/15/new-veterans-outpatient-clinic-opens-in-dubuque/ Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on August 07, 2020, 10:40:22 AM The final part of the old Mart of K (https://www.telegraphherald.com/news/tri-state/article_725fad8a-9e51-54d1-92a1-792cbc5a74fa.html) will have an occupant. The ends were taken up by a VA Clinic and a Joann's and a furniture store is moving into the center part.
Quote A furniture store in Dubuque will soon make a short move that will have a big impact on its customers and workforce. Slumberland Furniture will relocate from its current location, at 4390 Dodge St., to a larger space within the Plaza 20 Shopping Center in the first quarter of 2021. Plaza 20 President Michael Kahle confirmed that Slumberland will occupy the 55,000 square foot space in the former Kmart building, filling the vacant area between Joann fabric store and the Dubuque Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: pacman000 on January 11, 2021, 11:51:27 PM List of remaining Kmarts in the US, as of Dec. 2020: https://brostocks.com/2020/05/04/how-many-kmarts-are-left-in-the-united-states/
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: FatFreddysCat on January 13, 2021, 09:17:17 AM List of remaining Kmarts in the US, as of Dec. 2020: https://brostocks.com/2020/05/04/how-many-kmarts-are-left-in-the-united-states/ Just 35 stores left...out of what, almost 2500 at their peak in the 1990s? The mind boggles. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: pacman000 on January 15, 2021, 01:30:52 PM Indeed it does. Tis sad, in a way. Wish there was one around me; I'd go for old times sake, & to take pictures before it closed.
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on February 06, 2021, 10:40:25 AM List of remaining Kmarts in the US, as of Dec. 2020: https://brostocks.com/2020/05/04/how-many-kmarts-are-left-in-the-united-states/ Just 35 stores left...out of what, almost 2500 at their peak in the 1990s? The mind boggles. I wonder if the one in Guam will be the last one left, sort of like the last Blockbuster. The one in Guam is the most popular store on the island. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: pacman000 on February 24, 2021, 12:33:58 PM Error 404 (Not Found)!!1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP_bnz_KnJI#)
Big Sears closing. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on November 10, 2021, 06:35:55 PM Some of the few remaining Marts of K are shutting down (https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/09/business/kmart-store-closings/index.html) later this year
Quote Kmart is shuttering its last-remaining store in Michigan, the state where the once-proud retail chain launched in 1899. It's one of series of store closings that will leave the company with only six locations in the continental United States still in business by year's end. Kmart is owned by Sears, which purchased the chain out of bankruptcy in 2005. There were 2,100 Kmart locations at the time of its 2002 bankruptcy filing, and 1,400 when it was purchased by Sears. The combined company, Sears Holdings, itself filed for bankruptcy in 2018, and although it survived that process, it has since been closing stores under both brands in what retail experts describe as a "slow-motion liquidation." "Obviously they are all going to be gone shortly," said Mark Cohen, director of retail studies at Columbia University. "This movie has ended, and we're watching the credits roll endlessly." Cohen said that there is no sense in rebranding the handful of remaining Kmart stores with the Sears name, as it would cost money to put up new signage, and the Sears brand would do little to attract more customers. The Michigan one is currently the one closest to me right now at about 360 miles away. I think after this is done the nearest ones will either be in New York or New Jersey. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: RCMerchant on November 10, 2021, 06:49:40 PM ^ It closed yesterday.
https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/2021/09/27/last-kmart-michigan-close/5882648001/ (https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/2021/09/27/last-kmart-michigan-close/5882648001/) Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: WingedSerpent on November 12, 2021, 09:31:16 PM I heard either today or yesterday there's only 6 left in the entire USA.
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: FatFreddysCat on November 13, 2021, 08:18:00 AM I heard either today or yesterday there's only 6 left in the entire USA. ...and oddly, two are in New Jersey. One of them (Westwood, NJ) was our "rival" store when I worked at the now-defunct Paramus, NJ KMart in the 80s/90s. Our store would play a softball game against them every summer and they'd always kick our ass. :teddyr: A good friend from the KMart days and I are fascinated by the Westwood store's continued survival. Every time Sears/KMart announces more closures, we always scan the list, wondering if their number is finally up, but they keep dodging the bullet again and again. We joke that Westwood must be the Highlander (or maybe the Betty White) of KMart. "THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!" Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on December 22, 2021, 08:41:56 AM Our former ShopKo building is going to be torn down (https://www.telegraphherald.com/news/tri-state/article_62b25095-c8ec-5101-9f9d-2d6fccbfae50.html) sometime in the near future.
Quote A Dubuque property that formerly housed a big-box retailer soon will be leveled to make way for future development. The former Shopko building, located at 255 John F. Kennedy Road, will be demolished this winter, confirmed Cafaro Co. spokesman Joe Bell. “We will probably proceed with demolition within the next month,” he said. “It is a very good location, and, from a real estate development standpoint, the land itself is more valuable at this point than the building.” The structure largely has been vacant since Shopko closed its doors in the summer of 2019. Shopko Optical also operated within that structure and moved out later in the same year. That building's been there as long as I've been alive. It was expanded to its current size back in the late 1980s. So it'll be different to have it gone. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: pacman000 on December 26, 2021, 05:20:04 PM That’s kinda sad; still looks like a decent building.
Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on December 26, 2021, 06:02:01 PM That’s kinda sad; still looks like a decent building. Yeah it still looked to be in decent enough shape even though it's been empty for over two years now. I'm guessing what's going on is that the new business that wants to move in looked at renovating and it turned out that it would be more cost effective to tear down and put up one or more new buildings instead. We were all joking that we hoped it wasn't a new car wash or fast food joint. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: sprite75 on April 11, 2022, 07:15:23 AM The Mart of K (https://www.week.com/2022/04/11/once-retail-giant-kmart-will-be-down-3-stores-after-nj-closing/) is going to be down to its last three stores pretty soon
Quote The familiar sights and sounds are still there: the scuffed and faded floor tiles, the relentless beige-on-beige color scheme, the toddlers’ clothes and refrigerators and pretty much everything in between. There’s even a canned recording that begins, “Attention, Kmart shoppers” — except it’s to remind folks about COVID-19 precautions, not to alert them to a flash sale over in ladies’ lingerie like days of old. Many of the shelves are bare, though, at the Kmart in Avenel, New Jersey, picked over by bargain hunters as the store prepares to close its doors for good April 16. Once it shutters, the number of Kmarts in the U.S. – once well over 2,000 – will be down to three last holdouts, according to multiple reports, in a retail world now dominated by Walmart, Target and Amazon. Title: Re: We're losing our Mart of K later this month Post by: FatFreddysCat on April 12, 2022, 01:28:27 PM A good friend from the KMart days and I are fascinated by the Westwood store's continued survival. Every time Sears/KMart announces more closures, we always scan the list, wondering if their number is finally up, but they keep dodging the bullet again and again. We joke that Westwood must be the Highlander (or maybe the Betty White) of KMart. "THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!" I guess my old co-worker and I were right. Avenel NJ store is closing, Westwood is the Last KMart Standing in the Garden State. (William Shatner voice) but... for... HOW... LONG? |