It's starting again-store closings

Joined: 27 Feb 2009 Posts: 25

Lima, OH and Holland,MI Kmarts were told that they would be closing after the holidays. SHLD likes to let these trickle out for several weeks and then when they announce earnings, they'll provide a whole list

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/ottawa_county/K_Mart_closing_in_Holland

The Lima story is only available if you subscribe to the Lima newspaper.

SHLD seems to be able to cope with 25-30 closings per quarter.

Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 5:49 am Post subject:

Truth to, keep 'em under the radar. Thanks dingojoe for the link.

How many times have we seen these under the radar closings classic "Holdings Corp" type style moves? Tons so far. ~GoodFella

Joined: 05 Jul 2008 Posts: 151

Here is the Lima story..

http://www.wlio.com/localNews.aspx?NewsID=12476

They are in the final liquidation weeks at my old store. The assistant softline manager is still writing up employees, sometimes two write-ups at a time per employee. The girl who was written up has one which is for "not making the domestic area pretty"??? It is liquidating, going out of business, I thought the point was have it marked and out and sell it. The store is taking down gondolas and stripping walls like it should, how does one make it pretty? She has all the like items together, folded and nothing on the floor. I wondered if the write ups are more about driving employees out to avoid severence and a try to kill unemployment. Less than three weeks from closing and they still can't treat people decently.

Joined: 05 Dec 2007 Posts: 500

nothings been said to us however there have been stuffing going on to point in the direction they are getting ready to close the store.

Joined: 23 May 2008 Posts: 322

What does this company have against people collecting unemployment? Don't employees pay that through taxes? Or is it costing Sears money some how? Unless they aren't properly paying through our paychecks? and Sears doesn't want the government to find that out? How does it benefit this company to get people to quit or find a reason to fire them - rather than just pay unemployment? I think part timers - and most employees are part time - won't get any kind of severance pay anyway? It really makes no sense. But nothing this company does makes sense.

Joined: 15 Feb 2009 Posts: 315

I read somewhere, and I can't remember where that the average employer in NC only pays 14.00 a year per employee for the unemployment tax. Don't know how true that is, but they still are making a big deal of my daughter drawing hers. I don't think it's so much as the cost as it is this company trying to throw it's weight around and show employees who's boss.

Joined: 08 Jul 2003 Posts: 6045

Luis -what does this company have against unemployment

EXACTLY-but this has been going on for years. The problem is so much time is spent harrassing and pressuring the employees to quit that the lost morale and productivity HAVE far outweighed the gains from paying unemployment. Customers notice turnover.

As a matter of fact I recently saw an article where it shows that many who use full serve checkout in supermarkets like the interaction with the cashier as much as the full service cash out. Point being turn-over can definately affect customer service-which they know.

I think luis hit the nail on the head with them not paying enough. Sears does alot of stuff on a self insured basis. That and throw the bean counter manipulation oh that evil unemployment. They loose so many customers during the process/time it takes to get an employee to quit they never recover- Sears is working on 9 straight years of SSS declines and just so happen the really big last purge or r i f in 2001-2002 was 9 years ago. If Sears had made a really clean downsizing decision with no fuss no mess they'd be in much better shape today. Eddie/ESL repeated history with culture training/contracts/Aylmin mumbo jumbo in 2006-morale hasn't been the same since. This perpetual downsizing is not retailing

Joined: 08 Jul 2003 Posts: 6045

Fracken punk closes stores here...AGAIN and yet continues to hire outside the continental U.S. http://www.chainstoreage.com/(S(1v4oxkuemkyscp55sb2mv3qx))/story.aspx?id=118651&menuid=431

Joined: 15 Feb 2009 Posts: 315

Sears is working on 9 straight years of SSS declines and just so happen the really big last purge or r i f in 2001-2002 was 9 years ago.

Well it appears I dropped in about a year before this filtered down to Kmart. When I started with Kmart in 2000, the customer was the all important thing. Getting that merchandise out, was important but not an obsession,with counting boxes, but that customer service was and that's why I started out liking to work there. It seemed we had something Walmart was lacking. It was a decent place to work and I have had a couple good managers but they didn't stick around long. I worked with a team which consisted of my daughter, and two other ladies. We went in at 6am, worked until 3 or later, whatever it took. Then someone decided to play switch the shifts and our team was to go to nights and the two others that they knew could not work 3rd, quit and we who were left went to third, then second, then back to first etc etc etc.

It went from bad to worse and it seemed the longer we were there the less the customer mattered to them, and the bigger target we became.

Joined: 27 Feb 2009 Posts: 25

Today it's a FLS store in West Palm Beach, FL.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2009/10/16/1016searsclosing.html

I don't mean to sound cavalier about this because I realize people are losing their jobs, but it' becoming so predictable when SHLD makes these announcements that I'm starting to guess right on the days the closings will be "leaked". Heck, the day is early, maybe somebody out west will get the news too.

Joined: 27 Feb 2009 Posts: 25

Five more Kmarts hit the chopping block today. Only two have hit the media so far--Kalamazoo, MI and Portage, MI

http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2009/11/kmart_stores_in_kalamazoo_coun.html

A suburban Sears Essential closure in suburban Chicago hit the internet about a week ago, but I've lost the link.

Add Jeffersonville, IN (Louisville)

http://www.newsandtribune.com/clarkcounty/local_story_309221516.html?keyword=topstory

The last two are Danville, KY and Vancouver, WA.

Joined: 23 May 2008 Posts: 322

Store performance - in other words the employees - not like corporate makes idiot decisions. Blame the little guys again.

Joined: 05 Jul 2008 Posts: 151

This next one is in Vancouver, Washington

http://columbian.com/article/20091114/BIZ01/711149957/-1/biz

Joined: 09 Jan 2009 Posts: 29

our store is down over 15% for the month .

Joined: 26 Aug 2008 Posts: 269

Joined: 27 Feb 2009 Posts: 25

Sears FLS in Fairfield, AL and somewhere in Pasco County, FL will close after Christmas.

Going into earnings tomorrow, that makes 7 Kmarts, 3 FLS, and a Sears Essential that have either been announced or leaked before earnings.

1/31/2010

Store Closings on this site:
http://www.searsmedia.com./
Under "Media Tools"
includes the last 4 quarters

Third Quarter 2009

Joined: 27 Feb 2009 Posts: 25

The weird thing about that list is that it doesn't include the 5 Kmarts (Kalamazoo, Portage, Jeffersonville, Danville, and Vancouver) that were announced about 10 days ago.

I guess since the 3Q ended on 10-31, that those store closings don't exist.

Joined: 23 May 2008 Posts: 322

Sears gets the media to cover the things that make them money - like the rewards card and free credit scores - black friday before the real black friday - not the the fact that the company is closing tons of stores and more are on the bubble. The store I work in has a very bad reputation for various reasons with the public - I have no idea how it stays in business.

Joined: 28 Apr 2005 Posts: 2073

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