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There's a kmart (which is owned by Sears and therefore in the same situation) near my old office and it's downright depressing to go in there. The lighting isn'

There's a kmart (which is owned by Sears and therefore in the same situation) near my old office and it's downright depressing to go in there. The lighting isn't bright enough, the store is run with a skeleton staff and everything looks a bit old or dirty. For example, the floor tiles are overdue for a replacement. Want to buy a watch? Good luck finding an employee to help you at the watch counter. But the most eerie part is that the store is so devoid of customers. When I go to a nearby Target, you can hardly move around all the shopping carts in there. The Kmart, which is a similar size, might only have a few customers in the store at a time. Maybe Target is slightly more upscale, but even the Walmart nearby looks much nicer, plus has a better selection and similar if not lower prices. Unlike many other retail stores, it doesn't even feel like Kmart is trying to adapt. Bestbuy has it's superior customer service (not exactly world class, but better than competitors). T.J.Maxx/Homegoods has an ever-changing selection of bargains and the feeling of being in a treasure hunt. Even J.C. Penney tried a new transparent pricing scheme (which failed). But I haven't seen Kmart/Sears try to do something similar. Edit: changed the store is run on a skeleton staff to the store is run with a skeleton staff

moolcool 8y ago
>the store is run on a skeleton staff Sounds spooky to me! I bet they do good business around Halloween
lintball 8y ago
kmart was heavenly before ed took over ...
ip26 8y ago
We had a Kmart go under in our town recently. It was a dead store walking for years before it finally happened. Made entirely of cinderblocks, totally unkept, frankly it was reminiscent of dirt floor cinderblock villages I'd been to in Central America.
- ethbro 8y ago
  You kind of make me want to go visit the nearest rural Kmart with a camera...
MrMember 8y ago
I had a similar experience the last time I was in a Kmart. No employees, no other customers, empty shelves. Go to the electronics department and you'll find games for systems that were obsolete a decade ago. I don't understand how they've managed to stay open so long.
- dabockster 8y ago
  In some neighborhoods, the local KMart was the only local clothing store for miles. This was the case in the neighborhood a few miles away from me until the mid 2000s and the rise of Amazon.
amyjess 8y ago
Kmart has felt like that ever since I was a little kid in the late '80s and early '90s. It's always come off like they made it trashy on purpose.
hammerbrostime 8y ago
The Staples near me seems the same. Just amazingly empty. They started shutting the little Staples shops in NYC in the last year too.
hammerbrostime 8y ago
The Staples near me seems the same. Just amazingly empty and dirty. They started shutting the little Staples shops in NYC in the last year too.
icantdrive55 8y ago
1. You're right about filthy and understaffed. (Not so sure about understaffed, but the stores were dated aesthetically.) 2. Sears is way past its business cycles. I don't think anyone would disagree. That's why they should have done (a). A. Advertise that you are going to compete with the competition. Make it easy for the consumer. (Most consumers wouldn't even try to find a lower price, but the Psychological trust would gave been tremendous. B. Their Internet presence should have been Amazon quality. They had the catalogue. (Their website looks dated, and feels untrustworthy. There's no excuse for that website in 2018?) C. Offer a no questions asked refund policy. (Yes, many would have abused the policy. It doesn't matter. Goodwill would have been worth the liberal policy, along with the advertising. Customer, "It's warranties, with no questions, or invasive inquiries. Plus--many people buy returned goods. D. Fire all high paid management. Bring in new blood. (I had two friends whom worked for Sears. They both were paid minimum wage, and hated the organization on so many levels. One friend complained about the neck tie requirement. Why not let the employees dress comfortably? They will end up doing a better job if they feel comfortable in their appearance? And let's get serious, retail is a stepping stone job. Show some respect for your employees, and you might be suprised when they go the extra distance? F. Craftsman tools are fine. Work on bringing them to Snap-on quality. Hell--their isn't much difference between Snap-on, and Craftsman. Both are made in third workd countries. There's a perception of quality between the two brand though. Targeted advertising might desolve that perception? G. And I'm an absolute idiot, talking about stuff I know Nothing about! I grew up with the store though, and everytime I went through those security doors; I felt depressed. I looked around the bohemeth and just saw a dying dinosaur. I'm depressed just writing about it. Then again, I can't just let go of the fact that they paid so little to the Help.
dragonwriter 8y ago
> There's a kmart (which is owned by Sears and therefore in the same situation) The current “Sears Holdings” is, in fact, actually the result of Kmart buying the old Sears. > Unlike many other retail stores, it doesn't even feel like Kmart is trying to adapt. Ruthless cost cutting is an attempt to adapt. It's just a bad one, as actually executed by Sears/Kmart.
benatkin 8y ago
Target hasn't adapted that much because they didn't have to, what they were in the 90s was good enough to keep up with online competition. I don't pretend to understand all of it, but I can tell they have something that resonates with consumers.
- vkou 8y ago
  Cheap, clean, going to it doesn't make you feel like a post-apocalyptic survivor picking through an abandoned warehouse.

moolcool 8y ago

>the store is run on a skeleton staff Sounds spooky to me! I bet they do good business around Halloween

lintball 8y ago

kmart was heavenly before ed took over ...

ip26 8y ago

We had a Kmart go under in our town recently. It was a dead store walking for years before it finally happened. Made entirely of cinderblocks, totally unkept, frankly it was reminiscent of dirt floor cinderblock villages I'd been to in Central America.

ethbro 8y ago
You kind of make me want to go visit the nearest rural Kmart with a camera...

MrMember 8y ago

I had a similar experience the last time I was in a Kmart. No employees, no other customers, empty shelves. Go to the electronics department and you'll find games for systems that were obsolete a decade ago. I don't understand how they've managed to stay open so long.

dabockster 8y ago
In some neighborhoods, the local KMart was the only local clothing store for miles. This was the case in the neighborhood a few miles away from me until the mid 2000s and the rise of Amazon.

amyjess 8y ago

Kmart has felt like that ever since I was a little kid in the late '80s and early '90s. It's always come off like they made it trashy on purpose.

hammerbrostime 8y ago

The Staples near me seems the same. Just amazingly empty. They started shutting the little Staples shops in NYC in the last year too.

hammerbrostime 8y ago

The Staples near me seems the same. Just amazingly empty and dirty. They started shutting the little Staples shops in NYC in the last year too.

icantdrive55 8y ago

1. You're right about filthy and understaffed. (Not so sure about understaffed, but the stores were dated aesthetically.) 2. Sears is way past its business cycles. I don't think anyone would disagree. That's why they should have done (a). A. Advertise that you are going to compete with the competition. Make it easy for the consumer. (Most consumers wouldn't even try to find a lower price, but the Psychological trust would gave been tremendous. B. Their Internet presence should have been Amazon quality. They had the catalogue. (Their website looks dated, and feels untrustworthy. There's no excuse for that website in 2018?) C. Offer a no questions asked refund policy. (Yes, many would have abused the policy. It doesn't matter. Goodwill would have been worth the liberal policy, along with the advertising. Customer, "It's warranties, with no questions, or invasive inquiries. Plus--many people buy returned goods. D. Fire all high paid management. Bring in new blood. (I had two friends whom worked for Sears. They both were paid minimum wage, and hated the organization on so many levels. One friend complained about the neck tie requirement. Why not let the employees dress comfortably? They will end up doing a better job if they feel comfortable in their appearance? And let's get serious, retail is a stepping stone job. Show some respect for your employees, and you might be suprised when they go the extra distance? F. Craftsman tools are fine. Work on bringing them to Snap-on quality. Hell--their isn't much difference between Snap-on, and Craftsman. Both are made in third workd countries. There's a perception of quality between the two brand though. Targeted advertising might desolve that perception? G. And I'm an absolute idiot, talking about stuff I know Nothing about! I grew up with the store though, and everytime I went through those security doors; I felt depressed. I looked around the bohemeth and just saw a dying dinosaur. I'm depressed just writing about it. Then again, I can't just let go of the fact that they paid so little to the Help.

dragonwriter 8y ago

> There's a kmart (which is owned by Sears and therefore in the same situation) The current “Sears Holdings” is, in fact, actually the result of Kmart buying the old Sears. > Unlike many other retail stores, it doesn't even feel like Kmart is trying to adapt. Ruthless cost cutting is an attempt to adapt. It's just a bad one, as actually executed by Sears/Kmart.

benatkin 8y ago

Target hasn't adapted that much because they didn't have to, what they were in the 90s was good enough to keep up with online competition. I don't pretend to understand all of it, but I can tell they have something that resonates with consumers.

vkou 8y ago
Cheap, clean, going to it doesn't make you feel like a post-apocalyptic survivor picking through an abandoned warehouse.