Yes, this actually IS Fairfax-specific!

If the Kmart at Metrotech (corner of 50 and Centreville Road, remains open there's something TRULY strange about store-closing criteria. That has been the emptiest-of-customers store I've been to in, like, 20 years other than the Safeway that used to be on Westfields Blvd. I've always assumed both stores had really cheap very-long-term leases since they obviously could NOT be making enough money to pay for their existence.

http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/27/news/companies/sears_kmart_closings/index.htm?hpt=hp_t2

I would guess the K-Mart on Jermantown road in Ffx would be closing before the one in Chantilly. WalMart coming to the city was the death of that place. The store being an absolute shithole for the last 10-15 years hasn't helped either.

It's a shame to see though. Very little has survived the last 30 years around here (Ffx city). I guess it's a chain store, so it's not like someones hopes and dreams are being dashed, but I know myself and others my age have some memories of shopping trips to K-Mart with our parents, eating in the crappy cafeteria, getting Icee's, etc. It was a decent place once upon a time...back when Kmart and Sears were the "everyman" stores, JCPenny was nice, and Hechts and Woody's were for people with cash.

always baffling about that Kmart on Metrotech. Even in a great economic climate that store never seemed to draw very well

I wouldn't be surprised if they shut the Sears at Fair Oaks. since they rearranged things in the last year or so inventory seems a bit spotty

I don't think even in a good economy Sears/Kmart can be turned around. bad management. didn't the youngwhippersnapper who created the merger of Sears/Kmart slink away with a huge bag o' cash even though it wasn't working

Yep Wrote:
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> I would guess the K-Mart on Jermantown road in Ffx
> would be closing before the one in Chantilly.
> WalMart coming to the city was the death of that
> place. The store being an absolute shithole for
> the last 10-15 years hasn't helped either.
>
That store is a basket case.

-----------------------------------------------

"...your suffering will be legendary even in Hell!"

I also think the Jermantown K-Mart would have closed before Chantilly. I have been to both and the Jermantown location is in much worse shape.

I hope they never close that Sears hardware store off of Franklin Farms. That's the best ship-to-store location they've got. The online reviews of the standard Sears locations have me shopping elsewhere. They rarely have the best price - and no price is good if you can't actually take physical possession of the goods.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/27/2011 11:25AM by wnrsm.

I worked at night at the kmart in chantilly 20 years ago and even back then it was a huge shithole. They couldn't keep a manager for more than a month before he/she would move along, and the employees seemed to be a protype for the lamb center. I remember breaking out the pellet rifles from sporting goods and hunting rats around the dumpster and the caffeteria. Good Times, great memories!

I doubt the Kmart in Herndon is closing. That place is packed with immigrants/illegals every time I've ever been by. It's like shopping in Calcutta.

__________________________________
That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.

The Sears at Landmark does little business. A great Sears to go if you want to get in and get out quickly. Looking at the few customers they have I suspect they lose more in shoplifting then they make in sales.

I'm going with the Kmart on Jermantown closing. If it isn't on this specific list, it will be on some other list soon enough when Walmart puts the final squeeze on. With that said, if it does indeed close, not sure how much longer that strip will hold up. Kmart isn't helping much, but besides them there really isn't anything worth it in there.

Sears in Fair Oaks..... hard to say. I've haven't stepped foot in there in years, but what's the foot traffic inside like? Fair Oaks itself gets a lot of traffic. Overall, I'd suspect there are many other Sears candidates in very dead malls/areas.

Metrotech drive Shopping center is shitty in general, very badly designed parking lots, no place in there seems to do any business. The lowes is the only thing that is busy there

Before the bottom dropped out of the housing market it seemed like Sears did a fairly good business in appliance sales. I've noticed the last couple of years though their selection has really fallen off. Sears was also a fairly reliable place to go for things like socks and underwear, and their Lands End selections were usually ok as well.

Th K-Mart at Metrotech has treated its customers like shit for years, so it would be very appropriate for them to get shut down.

The Kmart on Jermantown should have closed YEARS ago -- Every time I've gone in I just cringe and remind myself why I HATE going in there ... It's been bad for a decade at least... and definately should be closed.

Chantilly won't close, nor will Fair Oaks. The stores may seem shitty, there is much worse in other parts of the U.S. They probably have mediocre sales, but I'm gonna assume that in places like Michigan, the numbers around here at sears/k-mart would be astronomical.

I hope the one in springfield closes

Sears really is only good for two things: Craftsman tools and Lands End clothes.

All those discount department stores look like Calcutta by the way. Sears, JCPenney, Kohls.

Glad to hear it!

nope Wrote:
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> Chantilly won't close, nor will Fair Oaks. The
> stores may seem shitty, there is much worse in
> other parts of the U.S. They probably have
> mediocre sales, but I'm gonna assume that in
> places like Michigan, the numbers around here at
> sears/k-mart would be astronomical.


Sears/KMart is not a retailer in the usual sense. They are a real estate holding company that sells stuff. The retail income helps defray the carrying costs (taxes, etc) on their VAST real estate holdings. That's why they bought Kresge (KMart), it was an old line company that owned a lot of property.

I dare say Walmart hasn't near the real estate holdings, certainly nothing comparable to the (now sold) Sears Tower in Chicago (once the tallest building on earth).

Don't weap for Sears, folks.

Sears at 7 corners is likely a candidate for closure. That place is always empty.

say Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sears/KMart is not a retailer in the usual sense.
> They are a real estate holding company that sells
> stuff. The retail income helps defray the
> carrying costs (taxes, etc) on their VAST real
> estate holdings. That's why they bought Kresge
> (KMart), it was an old line company that owned a
> lot of property.
>
> I dare say Walmart hasn't near the real estate
> holdings, certainly nothing comparable to the (now
> sold) Sears Tower in Chicago (once the tallest
> building on earth).
>
> Don't weap for Sears, folks.


Yep, I remember reading in the trade mags that Sears bought KMart solely for the real estate they owned.

I like the Sears in 7 corners and I always thought there seemed to be a decent amount of people in there. But it sucks that they use that circular room on the top floor for storage. I peeped my head in there once and it looks like it could be an awesome space.

If the KMart on Jermantown closes it will do nothing but help that shopping center. It is owned by AJ Dwoskin, who also owns the WalMart shopping center across the street. They are probably just waiting for KMart to close so they can revamp the whole thing. Now that The Deli has been ruined by the new owners, there is nothing in that shopping center worth saving.

Kamp Washingtonian Wrote:
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> If the KMart on Jermantown closes it will do
> nothing but help that shopping center. It is
> owned by AJ Dwoskin, who also owns the WalMart
> shopping center across the street. They are
> probably just waiting for KMart to close so they
> can revamp the whole thing.

I hope it's soon then. That is a great piece of property (large, too) and something awesome could end up going in there once it gets gutted and redone.

Another leveraged buyout where the buyers makes gobs of money on investment banking fees and the target (Sears/KMart) suffers and dies a slow death. Two great names in America retail reduced to a pile of poop at the feet of China-Mart (aka Wal-Mart).

Like an "H-Mart" or other international foods grocery?

Maybe a bank, a couple asian restaurants and a Starbucks?

Maybe another "Great American Restaurant"?

Their competition relies heavily on food and gas sales.

Not many would set food in Walmart, Target, or Costco if not for that.

hmmmm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm going with the Kmart on Jermantown closing. If
> it isn't on this specific list, it will be on some
> other list soon enough when Walmart puts the final
> squeeze on. With that said, if it does indeed
> close, not sure how much longer that strip will
> hold up. Kmart isn't helping much, but besides
> them there really isn't anything worth it in
> there.


The deli next to the kmart is good, and a new gym did open up back by primetime but other than that and the abc store if the strip closed it wouldnt be a huge loss

First wave of Sears/K-Mart closings released; NOTHING local. Heh.

http://searsholdings.com/about/122711_close.pdf

Surrrrre. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> First wave of Sears/K-Mart closings released;
> NOTHING local. Heh.
>
> http://searsholdings.com/about/122711_close.pdf

Don't lose hope! Remember, it's only a partial list.

I wonder how bad a store has to be before they close it?

I hope The Deli closes, that place blows.

When was the last time you saw a new Sears or K-Mart open? I have only seen two types of K-Marts - "closed" and "shithole that should be closed"

K-Mart is like the Redskins, the product sucks but people still keep going. The Skins got bought out and the product has been in decline ever since. Eventually someone will just buy them out for the name and just dump the remaining assets ( players ) for Pennies on the Dollar.

Surrrrre. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> First wave of Sears/K-Mart closings released;
> NOTHING local. Heh.
>
> http://searsholdings.com/about/122711_close.pdf


Never heard of most of these towns... most likely stores that have had little foot traffic for quite some time.

Looks like they were also very aggressive, expansion wise, in the state of Florida.

Huh. I never knew that there was a Walmart on Jermantown -- I thought the closest one was at Fair Oaks.

Metrotech (aka "Dirty KMart") not only was filthy, as my nicknamed implied, but empty. Yet, I was always struck by how many friggin' checkout aisles were crammed into a tinny area.

The KMart on Jermantown isn't as empty as Metrotech, but sucks to shop at. None of the displays are taken care of, merchandise is in the wrong place, or on the floor, etc. I'd behappy if they replaced it was a Target.

Sears in FairOaks always seems deserted when I cut through it, and their merchandise seems on the thin side.

KMart and Sears were once great names. It's too bad what has happened to them.

i used to work at the metrotech kmart. i'm surprised it wasn't on the list of stores to get cut. it has stayed exactly the same for the past two decades except the lil caesars has been closed forever.
dirty, crappy merchandise, even worse credit card

No more Kmart's in Richmond,Va? What's Meade Skelton going to do for his fashion shopping?

Fn7UU Wrote:
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> ...None of the displays are taken care of, merchandise is in the
> wrong place, or on the floor, etc...

One of the key marketing techniques is to get people, usually women, to search for items, often also giving the impression that whatever's there won't be there "tomorrow"; the reward for finding something after a search is, of course, a buy. There are a number of stores that take advantage of this - KMart might be one, Ross, Marshall's, and TJMax for sure are.

[a long time ago Mad magazine had a parody of megastores - probably aimed at KMart and Walmart ("blue light special"? Is that KMart?). That parody actually joked about the "appear disorganized" bit...]

How long has that Wal-Mart been open on Jermantown? That place is about a mile away from my work.

I didn't know it was there either. That doesn't say much for visibility. Now when I'm stuck and desparate enough to go to the Calcutta K-Mart, I can just got to Wal-Mart instead!

wnrsm Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How long has that Wal-Mart been open on
> Jermantown? That place is about a mile away from
> my work.
>
> I didn't know it was there either. That doesn't
> say much for visibility. Now when I'm stuck and
> desparate enough to go to the Calcutta K-Mart, I
> can just got to Wal-Mart instead!

It's only been open a couple months. Did you miss the huge thread about it on here?

It's in the old Expo store, next to Bloom.

Olde Farte Wrote:
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> Yes, this actually IS Fairfax-specific!

With the list published so far, this thread is clearly off-topic and not Fairfax-specific at all... where on the list do you see a local Sears or K-Mart store that is closing?

justsayin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> With the list published so far, this thread is
> clearly off-topic and not Fairfax-specific at
> all... where on the list do you see a local Sears
> or K-Mart store that is closing?


I'd care if your user name was "Cary"

Now that Bloom next to the new WalMart is closed, KMart is probably in line to go.

I wished the one in Herndon closed down. Traffic on Elden would be so much better!

Nobody goes there. If they closed down, traffic would be worse.

I seriously doubt the Kmart store in Herndon is closing. It was built in 1972 and has been open since. I think the only thing that'd shut that store down is a fire.

The Kmart in Chantilly is closing. The store closing signs and clearance deals just went up today. It'll be shuttered at the end of August.

I lived walking distance and I'll certainly miss it :(

I don't know how it has held on for this long. I went in there maybe once every two or three months and every time it was deserted. Maybe 8-10 customers in the store on a Saturday afternoon. And at that same time, Walmart probably has 400-500 people in it.

And it was always, always, always a freak show just to buy something. They never had the right price or the lady couldn't figure out the register or they had to call a manager. You could never get in there, buy something, and get out without a big hassle.

Is the Sears store in Franklin Farms closing?

adam_ Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Kmart in Chantilly is closing. The store
> closing signs and clearance deals just went up
> today. It'll be shuttered at the end of August.
>
> I lived walking distance and I'll certainly miss
> it :(

Aw, too bad. Was gonna check out the store. Guess I'm gonna have to go up to Herndon now...

---------------------------------------------------

- Savage Vro Fartian was here -

Dammit I was hoping the one in Herndon was on the list.

dammit2302 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dammit I was hoping the one in Herndon was on the
> list.

Lots of immigrant visitors....Its the only close "discount" store in town for the "little havana" residents of Herndon.

The big lots next to that kmart is a lot better, immigrants or cheap bastids like me.

Kmart only pays minimum wage to hell with them. They are closing a store in the tidewater area too.. An out dated business model.

My neighbor used to work at the Sears in Baileys. She was a cashier in the automotive section.

They put in a dress code. Black boots etc. She bought boots at Sears, they had red trim on them. About a month later they fired her for dress code violations. She applied for unemployment, they contested it. The labor board upheld the unemployment.

About a month or so later, a HUGE shipment of tools showed up at her house (from Sears). She called, they could find no record of the shipment. They told her to send it back, but they would not pay for the shipping, so she did not do it. She even called where she used to work, they did not know, they told her they would not take the stuff, it had to go back to the distribution center. This was nice stuff, mechanics' tools and so on. A few things she gave away, a few she kept, but most she sold to the guys at the service station down the street.

A year later, she got a letter from attorneys demanding the return of the tools or payment. They took her to court. I appeared as a witness. Sears lost. The judge said they made a mistake in shipping and should have paid for the shipping or made arrangements to come get it. It turns out Sears shipped someone else's order to her! Some other person had ordered all this stuff, and they screwed up.

One funny thing was that her boss, the guy who fired her for the red trim on the Sears boots, did not appear. He was in jail for stealing from Sears.

I say let the place close. What a bunch of losers.

adam_ Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Kmart in Chantilly is closing. The store
> closing signs and clearance deals just went up
> today. It'll be shuttered at the end of August.
>
> I lived walking distance and I'll certainly miss
> it :(


This is great news that they are closing the kmart. They had some very racist security personnel from my perspective/point of view.

Closed Chantilly K-Mart = Future North Chantilly Wal-Mart Supercenter. Or maybe an annex to Lotte.

Seriously both of the K-Mart stores around here that closed have a Wal-Mart very near to them. As long as Wal-Mart doesn't find a way into Herndon I suspect that K-Mart will stay open for a while.