And now, the end is near...

[+ Charlie]

I shop at Total Wine because it happens to be the only local store that carries the lesser-known brand of Scotch that my spouse prefers. But I also wonder who buys their enormous selection of wines and other alcoholic beverages, although I have never found the store empty of customers.

I know it is a sign of my age, but I almost never shop for anything online, although I may search for info about it that way. I like to see and touch the things I purchase before I pay for them--I don't want to buy something, wait for it to be shipped, open the package and discover it is not really what I wanted, and have to ship it back if they have a return policy.

 

 

Edited January 24, 2024 by Charlie

[samhexum]

59 minutes ago, Charlie said:

I like to see and touch the things I purchase before I pay for them--I don't want to buy something, wait for it to be shipped, open the package and discover it is not really what I wanted, and have to ship it back if they have a return policy.

Many consumers on this site have similar feelings about the packages they order.

[TallMuscl37]

Yeah Sear’s was super reliable. I think I have feather pillows and other items as well, and when they merged with shop your way rewards it was easy to get some great deals. 
 

Another store I like that has somewhat scaled back over the years but remains in biz: is Burlington (used to be “coat factory”). It’s hard not to walk in there and not buy something. Clothing and coat quality/selection though isn’t too great. It’s generally overstocked or undersold stuff you’d see at places like “Orlando premium outlets” or similar type of places. I’ll buy the occasional workout clothes, home goods and luggage. But I brought a Tommy coat from Macys and the quality is different than the Tommy coats at Burlington.
 

Oh yeah I have an iron from Sears from years ago too: that thing has stood the test of time. It gets steams the wrinkles out of anything. I used to travel with it because I got tired of crusty hotel irons, but it’s just too heavy to carry around and I don’t iron much lol. It would be nice if Walmart or Target brought out and merged with Sears: as we’ve seen with certain hotel chains.

Edited January 25, 2024 by Jarrod_Uncut

[samhexum]

On 1/16/2024 at 2:38 PM, dbar123 said:

I miss the Sears tool and automotive departments.

 

On 1/24/2024 at 9:06 AM, rvwnsd said:

They had even higher standards for merchandise sold under their own brands like Craftsman and Kenmore. Unfortunately, that went away when they decided to cut costs. Not surprisingly, the quality dipped

Free DieHard Car Battery at Advanced Auto Parts

"On National Battery Day, Sunday, Feb. 18, Advance will surprise randomly selected customers with a free DieHard® battery, including those getting their current battery tested, at participating stores nationwide. As part of National Battery Day, Advance is partnering with pro football star quarterback Baker Mayfield to encourage motorists to get their car batteries tested."

[viewing ownly]

Somewhere deep in my garage (not a metaphor) I saved a weekly ad from a long defunct department store called Stage. The male underwear model had the most gigantic areolas of anyone I'd ever seen modeling clothes. They took up a much larger than normal percentage of his sculpted, golden buff chest.

AZDR, if I run across it, I'll bring it with the next time I see you so you can use your scanning skills. I think I pleasured myself to this guy just about as much as the very old Big 5 Sporting Goods ad that had the ripped stud in the genital-hugging red Speedo, although that may have been an artist's talented work rather than an actual person!

[samhexum]

In Flatbush, plans to restore art deco Sears building move forward

Art deco towers inscribed with the name “Sears Roebuck and Co.” in big bold letters at their apex are common sights throughout the U.S. The city of Hackensack, New Jersey, has one; and so does Boyle Heights, Los Angeles; Midtown Minneapolis; and many others. These buildings stand as harbingers of a bygone era before the shopping mall, when American consumers wined-and-dined along Main Street, not off of the side of highways.

Today, many of these handsome buildings stand empty thanks to shifts in consumer and transportation patterns, and building owners struggle to find anchor tenants. What should we do with them?

In Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood, a New York developer has plans to renovate a landmarked Sears Roebuck building that’s been vacant for years, not far from the iconic Kings Theater (1929). Clipper Equity, a real estate group led by David Bistricher, recently secured $24 million to finance the preservation of Flatbush’s Sears building, completed in 1932.

Flatbush’s Sears building sits on the corner of Bedford Avenue and Beverly Road. Like many of its counterparts around the country, the Flatbush tower was designed by Nimmons, Carr & Wright—a Chicago firm. Alton L. Craft of New York City was the local architect.

When the building opened in 1932, it was such a grand affair, Eleanor Roosevelt gave opening remarks to christen the structure, and then purchased “a pair of baby booties” according to The Brooklyn Eagle. In 1940, four new bays along Beverly Road were added to the 100-foot tower, along with additional square footage in the rear.

In 2012, Flatbush’s Sears tower was designated as a protected city landmark. Flash forward to 2018: That year, Sears filed for bankruptcy, and the flagship department store company had a fire sale on all of its goods inside the building. Signs reading EVERYTHING MUST GO! quickly populated the ground level. Transformco, a hedge fund, subsequently bought Sears’s assets for $5.2 billion. This gave the hedge fund all 700 properties in Sears’s portfolio, including the Flatbush property.

Two years later, COVID-19 struck, and the parking lot outside the Sears building was converted into a makeshift vaccination center. Then in 2021, the Brooklyn building closed its doors to customers, marking the closure of the chain’s last brick-and-mortar retail outpost in New York City. Transformco then announced its plans to work with Clipper Equity to convert the building into housing and commercial space.

With this recent $24 million acquisition, Clipper Equity wants to renovate all four floors of the Flatbush tower. Their goal is to lease the renewed interiors to office and/or grocery store tenants. Eventually, Clipper Equity hopes to redevelop the entire block surrounding the Sears tower through the ground-up construction of 900 residential units on the block and lot.

 

Clipper Equity plans to restore Flatbush’s Sears Roebuck & Co. building

WWW.ARCHPAPER.COM

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Developer Clipper Equity plans to restore the art deco Sears Roebuck & Co. building located in Flatbush...

 

[+ Charlie]

The Sears in Hackensack, NJ, (mentioned above) was the one that I referenced in my earlier post, within walking distance of my grandparents' apartment. It was in the same mall with Packard Bamberger, the WalMart grocery supermarket of it's day.

[samhexum]

Sam Ash to close all 42 stores as beloved music chain goes out of business

[samhexum]

On 1/15/2024 at 10:09 PM, samhexum said:

The last-standing Sears in the New York area is shutting down, bringing the 138-year-old department store’s US footprint down to a measly dozen locations.

ANOTHER PIECE OF 20TH-CENTURY AMERICANA BITES THE DUST:

 

Tupperware shuts down only remaining US plant, moves to Mexico as over 100 workers laid off

[samhexum]

On 3/15/2024 at 10:40 AM, samhexum said:

Developer plans to restore Bklyn Sears 

 

David Bistricer’s Clipper Equity bagged another loan for part of its massive multifamily project at the former site of a landmarked Sears department store.

The project is part of a larger affordable housing redevelopment of the property that formerly held Sears, a complex expected to include 876 units. Bistricer bought the property two years ago for $40.3 million from Transform Operating Stores, which purchased Sears’ remaining assets after the department store went bankrupt. 

The 148,000 square-foot development will have 86 one-bedroom, 68 two-bedroom and 72 studio units. Thirty percent of the apartments will be affordable. It will also include 23,000 square feet of commercial and 10,000 square feet of retail space.

The four-building project will stretch across three city blocks, at the corner of Bedford Avenue and Beverly Road.

The famed Sears Roebuck & Co. department store building closed its final New York City location at the Flatbush outpost in 2021 after 89 years. The closing signaled an end of an era for the department store that was in business on the same corner since 1932, when future first lady Eleanor Roosevelt addressed the crowd at its grand opening. The art deco tower was designated as a city landmark in 2012.

A photo illustration of David Bistricer along with 2359 Bedford Avenue

 

https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2024/06/26/bistricer-lands-95m-construction-loan-for-development-at-iconic-flatbush-sears/

Edited June 27, 2024 by samhexum
to ensure maximum delight for the reader!

[Act25]

On 1/16/2024 at 10:31 AM, Act25 said:

One of the twelve remaining stores is in a suburban Seattle mall.  The original big Sears store in Seattle is now Starbucks HQ.  

The last Sears store in Washington is closing.  Apparently it was one of nine left in the states. 

40 years from the largest retailer in the country to little more than a joke.  A good b-school case study of missed opportunities. 

At Southcenter, the last Sears in WA is shutting down | The Seattle Times

[samhexum]

@LaffingBear will be happy... he's mentioned in a couple of posts that he's shopped there...

Big Lots reaches deal to keep hundreds of stores open, save jobs

[viewing ownly]

Big ! Lots was the first place I knew of to sell cinnamon flavored vienna sausage. Year round. How some products never disappear from existence is "beyond ! me".

[LaffingBear]

On 12/27/2024 at 7:41 PM, samhexum said:

@LaffingBear will be happy... he's mentioned in a couple of posts that he's shopped there...

Big Lots reaches deal to keep hundreds of stores open, save jobs

I don't know how long ago I posted that I shopped Big Lots.  I shopped there less and less after Covid,  the place really went downhill.   And then, mid-2024, all of the Big Lots in my region closed.  I couldn't return if I wanted.  

[samhexum]

On 12/27/2024 at 10:41 PM, samhexum said:

Big Lots reaches deal to keep hundreds of stores open, save jobs

Back to life Big Lots to reopen more than 100 shuttered stores after bankruptcy filing

“We’re excited to bring an additional 132 Big Lots! locations back to life in May,” said and CEO of Variety Wholesalers, which acquired more than 200 Big Lots stores.

[samhexum]

Rite Aid will shutter all of its remaining New York locations in the coming months as part of a bankruptcy reorganization plan, according to multiple reports.

The national drugstore chain, which currently operates 178 stores in the state and 1,240 stores nationwide, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. This marks the company’s second bankruptcy filing in two years.

According to company officials, Rite Aid is “pursuing a strategic and value-maximizing sale process for substantially all of its assets.” As part of the reorganization, the company will close all of its distribution centers, and its remaining New York stores will either shut down or transition to new ownership.

The first round of employee layoffs is expected to begin on June 4.

“We’re committed to ensuring uninterrupted pharmacy services and preserving as many jobs as possible,” said CEO Matt Schroeder. He acknowledged the company’s financial challenges but noted strong interest from prospective buyers. “I’m grateful to our associates for their dedication and proud of the role we’ve played in supporting healthcare needs across our communities,” he said

[Rudynate]

On 1/16/2024 at 9:22 AM, Charlie said:

My grandparents lived just down the street from a Sears Roebuck in New Jersey, and they shopped there for almost everything except food. They and my parents--all long dead now-- would be shocked at the news. I still have my old Sears credit card somewhere, but I haven't had an opportunity to use it in years.

One of my aunts was an accountant and spent her entire career with Sears Roebuck.  She had a pretty comfortable retirement.