heartlikealion Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 I'm surprised they are still around, at least the KMarts, since the many of the ones I used to live near closed years ago. When I was growing up I always associated Sears with malls. But I learned a few years ago they have some "hometown" stores. I went inside one once, but it wasn't really the type of store I was used to (as I mainly went to Sears for clothing). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 (edited) We went there to get some exercise equipment. We asked the sales guy a question and he literally stood there and read the signs to us. Umm, we can read, thanks. So annoying. Astoundingly, I had also read online buying guides and reviews, lol. Obviously, this never occurred to sales person. But, ultimately, I would blame store's hiring and training practices. Edited December 10, 2016 by Alessandra 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 We had a Kmart in the previous town I lived in. It was a horrible place to go. There were always big ladders for stocking or boxes and boxes of stuff in aisles with no one putting them away. The cash registers were so crowded together, I could barely get my son's wheelchair through them. Added to that, they usually only had one line open so the 5-6 extra checkout lines crowded into a tight space were useless. There were only 5-6 cars in the parking lot at any given time. I've heard that Kmart is turning into a movie theater. Has anyone heard if the person who owned them was not investing in them anymore because he was just waiting for the real estate Kmarts were sitting on to increase in value in order to sell? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellifera33 Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 I must just have a soft spot in my heart for Kmart, because its flaws don't bother me. Maybe I'm nostalgic for the days when my parents would take us and threaten us with Trax shoes, bought on a blue light special, sure to earn us the scorn of our Nike-wearing schoolmates. Our local Kmart was next to the Bi-Lo supermarket, where you could buy generic products in a plain white box with "WHEAT CEREAL" or "RICE" printed in black letters. My grandparents even drank "BEER." Ah, the good old days. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 The old KMart location around here is now split into a Hobby Lobby and an Asian Supermarket. I thought all the KMart stores were closed already. That was after being vacant for a bit. The last time I shopped at KMart was 2004 and I needed inexpensive furniture for my son's room and a smaller kitchen table. The store was rundown and the cashiers were high. The last time I shopped at Sears was when we bought appliances right before we closed on our first house on 2007. The salesman was a jerk and the delivery people damaged our brand new floor by dragging a refrigerator across it without a pad. Oh wait, I did run into sears not too long ago to get a lands end belt for my son. Is Lands End going to die too? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 Is Lands End going to die too? Lands End was spun off ~2013/14. It remains to be seen what Federica Marchionni will do to the company. http://diginomica.com/2016/09/05/lands-ends-amazon-digital-retail-alliance-owes-more-to-sears-xit-than-brexit/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkie Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 Lands End was spun off ~2013/14. It remains to be seen what Federica Marchionni will do to the company. http://diginomica.com/2016/09/05/lands-ends-amazon-digital-retail-alliance-owes-more-to-sears-xit-than-brexit/ The board of directors forced Marchionni out in late September, which I thought was a wise decision since she was clearly not a good fit for the company. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamaraby Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 The board of directors forced Marchionni out in late September, which I thought was a wise decision since she was clearly not a good fit for the company. Well that's good at least. I always had a hard time picturing Marchionni in Dodgeville, WI. Then again, a sailboat supply company in Dodgeville, WI was always slightly entertaining. Anyway, LE won't be directly pulled down with Sears/KMart, but mismanagement can cast a long shadow so who knows long term how LE will do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquirrellyMama Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 https://books.google.com/books/about/Kmart_s_Ten_Deadly_Sins.html?id=zUyd4iifCfYC&hl=en Here is an interesting book about Kmart. It answered some questions I had through the years after shopping in Kmart stores. We haven't had a Kmart of Sears in several years. Kelly 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mellifera33 Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 The old KMart location around here is now split into a Hobby Lobby and an Asian Supermarket. I thought all the KMart stores were closed already. That was after being vacant for a bit. The last time I shopped at KMart was 2004 and I needed inexpensive furniture for my son's room and a smaller kitchen table. The store was rundown and the cashiers were high. The last time I shopped at Sears was when we bought appliances right before we closed on our first house on 2007. The salesman was a jerk and the delivery people damaged our brand new floor by dragging a refrigerator across it without a pad. Oh wait, I did run into sears not too long ago to get a lands end belt for my son. Is Lands End going to die too? The crummier strip malls in Pierce county are still anchored by Kmarts. Our local store stares a strip with biglots and is across from the Goodwill, a dollar store, and Dialysis 'R' Us. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 The crummier strip malls in Pierce county are still anchored by Kmarts. Our local store stares a strip with biglots and is across from the Goodwill, a dollar store, and Dialysis 'R' Us. KMart was my family'/ destination for whatever little back to school shopping we did. The school supply aisles there in the 1980s were like a candy store for my nerdy self. We'd always go to Kmart and perhaps Ross Dress for Less. One of my few clear memories before I was a teenager was being waaaaay excited the one year I was able to get a Trapper Keeper. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenrae Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 I was just preparing to buy gift cards for a family member from Sears! I think I will make a purchase from another of her favorite stores. Thanks for sharing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 (edited) The thing with KMart is that they long seemed to have been throwing spaghetti at the ceiling to see if it stuck as a means of creating a brand. There was no cohesion and way too many changes in a short time that just left people confused. Try this, then this, then that. The stock was also pretty spotty. I'm amazed they have hung in there this long. Also Sears didn't buy KMart, KMart bought Sears and then pinned their hopes on Sears having a more valuable name. I think they tried to change some of the KMart locations into mini-Sears stores. It's not a good sign when your company has been fodder for business school case studies as an example of what not to do for more than 2 decades. Edited December 10, 2016 by LucyStoner 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 The crummier strip malls in Pierce county are still anchored by Kmarts. Our local store stares a strip with biglots and is across from the Goodwill, a dollar store, and Dialysis 'R' Us. What's with the Dialysis 'R' Us store fronts? We had two pop up in my previous small town of 20k people. Do that many people really need dialysis?!? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 (edited) What's with the Dialysis 'R' Us store fronts? We had two pop up in my previous small town of 20k people. Do that many people really need dialysis?!? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk With the exploding numbers of diabetes dx there is unfortunately a brisk uptick in the number of people with end stage renal disease. A greater need for dialysis has not been matched with a greater supply of kidneys for transplant. Edited December 10, 2016 by LucyStoner 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 With the exploding numbers of diabetes dx there is unfortunately a brisk uptick in the number of people with end stage renal disease. A greater need for dialysis has not been matched with a greater supply of kidneys for transplant.I thought the Dialysis R Us was an autocorrect error. 😮Apparently this chain hasn't come to my area! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted December 10, 2016 Share Posted December 10, 2016 (edited) I thought the Dialysis R Us was an autocorrect error. 😮Apparently this chain hasn't come to my area!I haven't seen any by that name. That said, I have seen no fewer than 5 open up in suburbs near me. Right in the strip malls next to fabric stores and take and bake pizza places. The last one I saw is called DaVita which I thought sounded like a dress shop or something. I wonder if regulatory changes have allowed providers to transition out of providing dialysis in large medical complexes to smaller places that are less of a hassle for patients to get to and also free up space that the medical centers need for other services. Medical centers are often located in the middle of cities and have limited or very pricey parking. If some one needs dialysis, the closer to home the better. Edited December 10, 2016 by LucyStoner 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lollie010 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Aww! Memories. The last time I shopped in Kmart, my identity was stolen by the cashier and when I reported to police an investigation began that revealed an organized crime operation headed by store management. It was so long ago that "identity theft" didn't even have a name yet! 😄 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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