Sears/Kmart quickly disappearing

[ultrarunner]

I watched a video last night about a Sears store in Arizona at the time of insolvency. Not a soul to be seen in the store and some questionable merchandise on the shelves as apparently many vendors would no longer supply goods.

On another note. I bought a battery for the insane price of $11.00 at The Source for my Apple TV remote. Yesterday, at a friends, he was unpacking an Amazon shipment. He got 15 of those name same brand batteries for $10.00. I felt light headed and thought I would be sick!

No way, bricks and mortar can compete!

The twist is Amazon is opening a Brick and Mortar in SF soon... neighborhood is rallying against it...

They also bought Whole Foods... Brick and Mortar.

 

[ultrarunner]

The plant was just before you crossed the San Mateo Bridge in Hayward, on the right hand side. For some reason I want to call it Rhome and Hass, but I'm spelling it wrong and probably saying it wrong in my head too. A lot of what used to be there was removed to create the open space for the shorline and the salt flats. What is left was turned into warehouses and industrial buildings. We used to walk our dirt bikes to the Shasta Plant, then ride along the railroad tracks to the salt flats and the shoreline. It used to be a huge off road dirt bike place that was packed on the weekends. Then years later, after High School and the Marines, I came back and it was all built up, and off limits.

1983 was my senior year in High School and I worked at the ice skating rink that year before leaving for boot camp.

Small world... I bet most of the people around here don't know there was Ice Skating at the mall...

My big venture was being allowed to go to Radio Shack on my bike at age 7 to get my free battery at Southland!

The local school is a sea of cars... kids don't walk anywhere anymore... parents cite safety and kids are picked up and dropped off and not like the old days when everyone would pile in.

I have not seen a kid on a bike in years... not a single one

Growing up in Southgate we lived on our bikes... school, after school, summer and if we had a group we could go to Kennedy Park...

The K-mart is long gone... a furniture store in it's place... Sears divested the 100 store Orchard Supply and it was picked up by Lowes which is closing the chain started by Farmers in Santa Clara back in 1931... plus all of the big ACE Hardware stores nearby are closing or have closed...

It is pretty much Home Depot or the Wholesale Houses... a new HD Supply just opened which does have some great opening prices... but it too is a ware house.

 

[goeduck]

No way, bricks and mortar can compete!

Walmart and Home Depot seem to be doing brick and mortar well. I would agree with you that they both push on line in addition to a traditional store.

It was a while back but I bought my current sets of Craftsman wrenches on line even though Sears clung more to badly managed brick and mortar

 

[Fuddy1952]

We have a great large Ace hardware store about 12 miles away. They're building a brand new second HUGE Ace hardware on the same road but about 4 miles away!
It will open soon. I was in the other Ace Thursday and they have one complete isle dedicated to Craftsman tools.
So the new Ace I'm sure will have even more and will honor the Craftsman warranty.

 

[goeduck]

I like Ace stores. Unfortunately, ours closed.

 

[Dftodd]

I like Ace stores. Unfortunately, ours closed.

Ours is still there. Any odd ball pipe, plumbing, or hydraulic fitting you need, they usually have. Only issue I've found though is they are usually twice as expensive as other vendors that will order them in for me. I use the other vendors unless it's an issue that can't wait a couple days. Then I put on my big boy pants and suck it up

 

[ultrarunner]

I like Ace stores. Unfortunately, ours closed.

The one in Lacey WA I liked is also gone...

Use to think owning a little hardware store would be fun... but seeing them drop has changed my prospective...

The Oakland store took up an entire city block plus owned property across the street in two directions... they really did have everything... the founder died and it languished for about 10 years until the family sold the property and now it is housing.

Thought of something else I bought from Sears... the chrome step bumper for my 85 Chevrolet Truck... they had the best price when I was shopping 30 years ago...

 

[dragoneggs]

I like Ace stores. Unfortunately, ours closed.

Bremerton... It didn't close did it?

 

[goeduck]

Bremerton... It didn't close did it?

I do not know about that one. The one that was near Washington Tractor (Deere dealer) closed.

 

[MossRoad]

Our local Ace hardware got eaten up by, gasp! a True Value! :laughing:

All the same people work there still. Great stores. :thumbsup:

 

[goeduck]

I will put in a plug for the small Do it Best stores. If I need expertise, that is where I go. Selection can be lacking but many times they surprise me.

 

[ultrarunner]

I will put in a plug for the small Do it Best stores. If I need expertise, that is where I go. Selection can be lacking but many times they surprise me.

We had a Do it Best and they would have seasonal sales flyers and one page had coral fence panels, water troughs and gates...

I ordered it and it was a problem... being the store was an urban store.

I told the manager the prices were very good... he made some calls and said it would take a few weeks as these items were not suppose to be in the insert they had...

Do It Best made good but when I wanted to order more I was told I would need to pay freight to bring them in... so it was no longer the killer deal.

 

[KubotainNH]

Our local Ace hardware got eaten up by, gasp! a True Value! :laughing:

All the same people work there still. Great stores. :thumbsup:

I have a True Value a mile away. Not the best prices but they often have the part I need so I do my best to support them plus the next place is 20 mins away. They've been there for years. I bought a jackknife from them as a kid close to 40 years ago.

 

[MossRoad]

I have a True Value a mile away. Not the best prices but they often have the part I need so I do my best to support them plus the next place is 20 mins away. They've been there for years. I bought a jackknife from them as a kid close to 40 years ago.

Whoops! I got it backwards... It was Ace that ate the True Value, not the other way around. Anywho, still good folks with great staff and knowledge.

 

[KubotainNH]

Whoops! I got it backwards... It was Ace that ate the True Value, not the other way around. Anywho, still good folks with great staff and knowledge.

Interesting, mine still says True Value as does the fliers I get on occasion. They leave the name as is? True on the staff.

 

[/pine]

FWIW...
I heard that the Amazon "Go Stores" (3000 B&M stores coming) are going to stock the most common (across the board) items sold on Amazon...

 

[/pine]

Is Lowes headed in the same general direction as Sears?

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlot...strategy-by-closing.html?ana=yahoo&yptr=yahoo

 

[poncho62]

Is Lowes headed in the same general direction as Sears?

https://www.bizjournals.com/charlot...strategy-by-closing.html?ana=yahoo&yptr=yahoo

Saw on the news this morning where they are closing a bunch of stores in Canada too.....Also, I believe they pulled out of sponsering NSACAR after this year.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Locally Lowe's hasn't been able to make headway against Home Depot for some reason.

 

[MossRoad]

Contractors prefer Home Depot over Lowes.