Mall Loses Sears
Printed From: MiddletownUSA.com
Category: Middletown City Government
Forum Name: Economic Development
Forum Description: Local government efforts to develop the local Middletown area economy.
URL: http://www.middletownusa.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=6472
Printed Date: Apr 26 2024 at 12:29am
Topic: Mall Loses Sears
Posted By: buddhalite
Subject: Mall Loses Sears
Date Posted: Jun 07 2017 at 1:02am
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Well - another blow to the small, I mean Mall - Sears is undergoing another round and our store didn't make the cut: http://www.businessinsider.com/sears-is-closing-72-stores-heres-the-full-list-2017-6 I know part of the mall (I believe this was not part of the sale) was sold to another entity. This should leave a majority of the other end of the mall vacant. Anyone know what the owner(s) plans are to redevelop? ------------- "Every government intervention [in the marketplace] creates unintended consequences, which lead to calls for further government interventions." -Ludwig van Mises |
Replies:
Posted By: swohio75
Date Posted: Jun 07 2017 at 8:37am
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America is losing Sears. And Kmart. Sears is the only piece of the mall property that was not acquired by the new mall owners--who after successful redevelopment of the former McAlpin's / Dillards property, sold it for $8 mil. Last time I was in the mall, only Rogers, Bath and Body Works and I believe one/two local places remained. Have to believe they are not their long-term. If they can relocated those two tenants to outparcels, it's time to turn off lights and lock the doors. Sears owns their TM store. But, Sears has been transferring owned properties to their REIT (Seritage) who then is redeveloping properties---some of which includes demolishing stores and rebuilding newer, smaller format retail/restaurant space. Elder-Beerman property is now listed. Not only is it positioned potential retail, but also other uses: Site ideally situated for high-visibility retail, call center operations, distribution center or medical use http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/20259920/3461-Towne-Blvd-Middletown-OH/" rel="nofollow - http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/20259920/3461-Towne-Blvd-Middletown-OH/
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Posted By: spiderjohn
Date Posted: Jun 07 2017 at 1:11pm
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+ Marsh is really closing?? Not good--all locals working these jobs Surprised at the indifference from ED and admin, though most don't live or shop here. We are now an embarrassing food desert and honestly a retail disaster for a community this size. So--what do we do well and what are our attractions?? Have lived here for my entire life and am confused as to how we react to things. Help me out swohio! |
Posted By: John Beagle
Date Posted: Jun 07 2017 at 1:57pm
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Sad but not unexpected to see Sears close it's Middletown, Ohio location. ------------- http://www.johnbeagle.com/" rel="nofollow - John Beagle Middletown USA News of, for and by the people of Middletown, Ohio. |
Posted By: buddhalite
Date Posted: Jun 07 2017 at 10:40pm
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Certainly not unexpected, but sad nonetheless. Was in there the other day - and it was already a wasteland. Hardly anything in the store - won't be much to liquidate, for sure. On another note, I know that the City has contracted an outside firm to bring in retailers and such - anyone know if they've actually had any progress? I know they're not doing it for free - but from what I have read it looks like most of the redevelopment at the mall predated their contract - so I'm just curious what is going on there. Bob ------------- "Every government intervention [in the marketplace] creates unintended consequences, which lead to calls for further government interventions." -Ludwig van Mises |
Posted By: middletownscouter
Date Posted: Jun 08 2017 at 8:31am
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Agreed, it is sad, but not unexpected. I worked on the dock and in the stockroom in the mid 1990's, and helped with other projects like rewiring the electronics display areas, etc. We were always a smaller location that didn't have all the same departments as a "regular" Sears store like up at the Dayton Mall. I always figured the only reason this location lasted as long as it did was that Sears owned the building. Over the years watching the decline each time I went in there was kind of depressing. First the photo studio closed, then the electronics section was removed, then each time I went back in there is less and less merchandise. It's a shame to see what's happened to what used to be the largest retailer in the country. Remember the Sears Catalog? They were top dog in retailing, but then came the days of the brick & mortar stores, and they handled that transition pretty well. Sadly those days are increasingly dwindling in favor of the internet (essentially electronic catalog shopping, some irony in that circularity). Sears missed that opportunity to transition there, probably in part when Kmart tried to double down on the failing B&M philosophy by buying Sears in 2005. Could Sears have transitioned to online better and be the major online retailer instead of Amazon? Probably not, but perhaps. It also doesn't help that there's a different mindset from consumers nowdays. We've been conditioned over the years by the retailers like Wal-Mart to prefer cheaper priced (but cheaply made) goods that are more disposable in nature and don't last as long. Which hurts the core brands from Sears, like Craftsman tools. Sure, I can go buy a $20 Craftsman screwdriver set from Sears that will likely last me not only my lifetime but pass down to my kids, and if one ever breaks they replace it for free. But a $5 chinese made set from Wally World will last a reasonable amount of time as well, and if any of it gets lost or breaks hey I can just go buy another and still only spend half as much overall as a Craftsman set. The company gets a smaller overall profit per item but they sell way more items in the long run so that's where they make their money.
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Posted By: spiderjohn
Date Posted: Jun 08 2017 at 9:57pm
| Anyone here besides Vet and Presta remember when Sears was located on Main St?? |
Posted By: 409
Date Posted: Jun 08 2017 at 10:29pm
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Sure do. Also had auto service at NE corner of Main & First. ------------- Every morning is the dawn of a new error... |
Posted By: VietVet
Date Posted: Jun 09 2017 at 6:02am
Next door to the Colonial Theatre and behind the old Journal building wasn't it? ------------- I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over. |
409 wrote:Posted By: 409
Date Posted: Jun 09 2017 at 8:21am
Yes it was. As I recall, they did some minor auto service but mostly sold tires and accessories. ------------- Every morning is the dawn of a new error... |
Posted By: Mike_Presta
Date Posted: Jun 09 2017 at 10:39pm
If so, you are probably right!!!  ------------- “Mulligan said he ... doesn’t believe they necessarily make the return on investment necessary to keep funding them.” …The Middletown Journal, January 30, 2012 |
Posted By: Mike_Presta
Date Posted: Jun 09 2017 at 10:41pm
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Sears was on South Main and Monkey Wards was about a block away on the other side of the street on North Main. ------------- “Mulligan said he ... doesn’t believe they necessarily make the return on investment necessary to keep funding them.” …The Middletown Journal, January 30, 2012 |
Posted By: John Beagle
Date Posted: Jun 12 2017 at 9:53am
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Sears and Kmart will be bankrupt before the end of this year. They are selling off real estate assets and closing at lease 66 more stores. 49 Kmarts 17 Sears “I have been saying that Sears would close more stores this year, and the latest 66 are still just a small percentage of the total of what will be announced by Sears as store closures in 2017. Expect another round of announcements after back-to-school, if not sooner.” - Jeff Green, National Retailers Consultant ------------- http://www.johnbeagle.com/" rel="nofollow - John Beagle Middletown USA News of, for and by the people of Middletown, Ohio. |
Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Jun 13 2017 at 8:54am
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John - There's a growing number of American cities that have/are successfully working in tandem with mall owners to re-purpose space utilization of these former, once viable mega retailing facilities. Do you know if the local Economic Development staff is actively exploring this (potential) opportunity with the owners of the Towne Mall? Nelson Self
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Posted By: VietVet
Date Posted: Jun 13 2017 at 10:20am
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IMO, the Towne Mall, as "dated" and as deserted as it seems to be internally at this time, is STILL doing better than the downtown business start-ups. Took awhile for the owners to show progress but there is Gabe's, Burlington and Planet Fitness in the mall with Sears soon leaving and Elder-Beerman gone as the major blemishes there, BUT, the out buildings seem to be holding their own with the Aspen Dental Clinic and Buffalo Wings doing business and the new barber shop coming on line. To me, these types of businesses seem more useful and more "in touch" with the average working people of Middletown than a coffee shop, arts studio, stained glass business or a specialized brew house and sandwich place would be. These places have the added benefit of attracting the I-75 traffic as well. Very convenient for them to do so. I would imagine very few, if any, are going to get off at the Middletown exit and drive seven miles west to investigate the offerings downtown. Just too inconvenient to do so. JMO Saw a news segment the other day where the trend now for under utilized mall space is to repurpose the empty space to colleges and churches in some cases. It is nice to see the traffic flow and business activity around the Towne Mall area once again. Kinda takes the "desolation feel" away when you see activity. ------------- I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over. |
Posted By: wannaknow
Date Posted: Jun 19 2017 at 11:07am
| I heard from the manager at Ollie's by the Dayton Mall that they were planning on opening a store in the old Target store location in the near future |
Posted By: buddhalite
Date Posted: Jun 21 2017 at 12:15am
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Because what Middletown needs is another uber-discount limited assortment junk store. My goodness....at least the space will be utilized once again. ------------- "Every government intervention [in the marketplace] creates unintended consequences, which lead to calls for further government interventions." -Ludwig van Mises |
Posted By: VietVet
Date Posted: Jun 21 2017 at 9:32am
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buddalite: "My goodness....at least the space will be utilized once again" buddha, If your reference to this comment was connected to wannaknow's post concerning his suggestion that Ollie's is going into the old Target store and taken as a bad idea, I took it as just a statement on information he has heard. I would imagine everyone is glad to see empty stores filled no matter what the business may be. I take your "my goodness at least the space will be utilized" comment as a criticism of his post. Is that the correct assumption here? buddha: "Because what Middletown needs is another uber-discount limited assortment junk store" Isn't this an assumption on your part as to what he may have meant? A little quick on the trigger perhaps? ------------- I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over. |
Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Jun 21 2017 at 11:03am
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Clearly, the utmost concerns of Middletown USA participants remains -- Mr. Adkins and City Council's priorities, policies, plans and programs to positively address economic development (jobs), commercial development (downtown and other), neighborhood betterment (housing and infrastructure improvements), positive community marketing (image enhancement), public safety, home ownership promotion, rehabilitation of dilapidated properties, enhancement of sagging property values, open and meaningful citizens participation, cost effective utilization of taxpayers funds, etc. Much documented information has been posted on MUSA for better than eight years. A core group of participants have endeavored to "lift the veil" from some pertinent city operations. You have the power to accomplish positive change or to maintain the status quo. IMHO, those in power are set in their ways, have their own agendas and it matters little what MUSA participants desire. A few years down the road it's hoped that you can look back and see fruits of your labors.
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Posted By: buddhalite
Date Posted: Jun 21 2017 at 3:28pm
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Viet, It's just not the kind of retail I would hope would have taken the space. Argh. Bob ------------- "Every government intervention [in the marketplace] creates unintended consequences, which lead to calls for further government interventions." -Ludwig van Mises |
Posted By: spiderjohn
Date Posted: Jun 22 2017 at 8:15am
| I agree with budbob---can't get excited about another discount store next to a discount store and across from two other discount stores. Vet--we have enough blue collar low-end everything in town. We need quality of life improvements asap to attract higher-end families imo. |
Posted By: Analytical
Date Posted: Jun 22 2017 at 10:10am
| How have Mr. Adkins priorities, policies, plans and programs of the past eight years provided quality of life improvements and attracted higher-end families? Are taxpayer's funds being used for the highest and best purposes? Are taxpayer's funds being utilized in the most cost effective manner? Will the upcoming years offer a continuation of the past practices? What is the likelihood that city's community betterment endeavors will be more successful? These are the real questions and concerns. |
Posted By: spiderjohn
Date Posted: Jun 22 2017 at 11:05am
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Not much No No Yes Hopefully Tough love and jail for the junkies and dealers |
Posted By: VietVet
Date Posted: Jun 22 2017 at 3:25pm
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spider: "Vet--we have enough blue collar low-end everything in town. We need quality of life improvements asap to attract higher-end families imo." I agree spider. But my thoughts toward buddhalite's comments were geared toward whether it was better to have the old Target store occupied with SOMETHING/ANYTHING, even if another discount store like Ollie's, rather than having the store boarded up and empty with no choice at all. With what we see pertaining to the empty storefronts in town, I would think that we would welcome more occupants (choices), no matter who they may be. Certainly I would rather have some upscale, more classy businesses locate to Middletown. Like to see more classy, upscale quality people live here too, but until we change the image and lose the ghetto climate here, it ain't gonna happen. In Middletown, because of it's rundown condition, the new Macy's is the Dollar General. It is all some in this town can afford with the overabundance of low income. Hell, Odd Lots is a step up to what some can afford in this town. Businesses have figured out that there is no money source here to pull from, so all we'll get is businesses that can relate to the low cost spending habits of the people, right? ------------- I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over. |
Posted By: Bocephus
Date Posted: Jul 04 2017 at 10:05pm
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Downtown Middletown has become a bustling dinning and drinking destination hell you can even take your beer with you while you bar hop |