Struggling retailer Sears Holdings announced plans late Wednesday to close an additional 46 "unprofitable stores" across the country, as it works to remain a going concern in a retail world far different than when it made its debut about 130 years ago. The stores will close "as part of our ongoing efforts to streamline Sears Holdings’ operations, strengthen our capital position and focus on our best stores," according to a statement released by the company. Sears Holdings, which includes the Sears and Kmart stores, has already, or is in the process of closing about about two hundred stores this year, and the latest round, like others before it, includes a number of stores in Georgia.
The stores, which the company indicates will close in phases, are slated to begin to close in late August, continuing though late November. In Georgia, the Sears at Oglethorpe Mall in Savannah is slated to close by the end of August, while stores in Cumberland Mall in metro Atlanta and in Glynn Mall in Brunswick are slated to close by the end of October.
As ToNeTo Atlanta reported previously, the Sears stores at Cumberland Mall and at Oglethorpe Mall were owned by the retailer, but were previously spun off into a separate publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) called Seritage Growth Properties (NYSE:SRG).
Cumberland Mall owner GGP has partnered with Seritage on redeveloping the Sears "box" at the metro Atlanta mall. The two companies previously had a 50% joint venture (JV) partnership on twelve malls, of which eight were sold to GGP last year. At the same time, the two companies formed a separate JV partnership that included a total of five Sears stores including those at Cumberland Mall and Coastland Center Mall in Naples. The Naples store was also included in Wednesday's announcement and is slated to close by late August.
The closure of Sears at Cumberland Mall would leave mall without any of its original four anchors that included it, along with Davison's, Rich's and J.C. Penney. The Davison's space was previously redeveloped into assorted restaurants while the J.C. Penney was demolished and rebuilt as a Costco. The former Rich's today operates as Macy's.
The Wall Street Journalreported Tuesday on plans that Brookfield Property Partners, who closed on their purchase of GGP last month, has for the GGP portfolio. The firm reportedly plans to expand GGP’s top-tier shopping centers with additional stores, while scaling back or reconfiguring less successful malls by adding housing, office space or hotels. Cumberland Mall is likely somewhere in the middle of the pack, as it is by no means a "top-tier," mall but is also not quite a "dead mall."
ToNeTo Atlanta reported previously that Kroger was in talks lease the upper floor of the current Sears Cumberland store but those negotiations fell apart over two years ago. More recently, sources indicate that GGP has engaged Dick's Sporting Goods in discussions for taking some of the Sears space. Dick's previously won the bankruptcy auction to take over the former Sports Authority space at Akers Mill Square, but subsequently scrapped plans to open in the center.
The Sears at Oglethorpe Mall in Savannah is actively being marketed by Atlanta based The Shopping Center Group as a "redevelopment opportunity." A "conceptual site plan" for the store in Savannah shows the Sears property being cleared and redeveloped into a mix of freestanding anchor and junior anchor sized spaces along with small shop space and pad sites likely intended for restaurants.
GGP, which also owns North Point Mall in Alpharetta, recently submitted redevelopment plans to the city that include replacing the Sears store that closed in July with a new project that would rise in its place on about 14 acres. Current plans include 328 apartments and almost 30,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. The project will also create a new entrance to the mall with a community gathering space and a 2.5 acre plaza with "Spanish steps." A new multi-use trail system for pedestrians and bicyclists would be built along the road that encircles the mall.
The Sears at Northlake Mall which was included in the May list of store closures, is actively liquidating. The store's "box" and adjacent property was purchased late last fall by ATR Cornith Partners, who in 2016 purchased the mall itself. The firm plans to redevelop/renovate the mall, but its specific plans and timeline have not yet been made public.
Following the three closures in Georgia, Sears will have no stores inside the perimeter (ITP). The company will continue to operate just five full-service Sears stores in Georgia, including those in Town Center at Cobb in Kennesaw, Arbor Place in Douglasville, Augusta Mall in Augusta, Georgia Square Mall in Athens, and Lakeshore Mall in Gainesville.
After multiple rounds of store closures, some of which occurred years ago, kmart, which like Sears was once a dominant retailer, operates just two locations in Georgia, one in Covington and the other in Peachtree City. In metro Atlanta, a portion of the current Lindbergh Plaza shopping center was once home to a kmart (with an escalator!), as was the property off Clairmont Road where Sam's Club currently operates.
ToNeTo Atlanta previously reported that Akers Mill Square, located catty corner from Cumberland Mall, is also getting new tenants, some of which will occupy space first built as a kmart.
At the conclusion of the latest round of store closures, Sears Holdings will operate fewer than 500 Sears and a little more than 300 kmart stores.
What would you like to see open in the soon-to-close Sears at Cumberland Mall? What was the last thing you purchased at Sears? Of all department stores, at which one do you consistently have the best experience?
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