If Considering Stopping At K-Sears Astor Place For Laundry Products

[launderess]

In two words; don't bother.

Popped in earlier today while out and about in The Village area and things were grim.

First and foremost the store has shrunk. The upstairs level is now gone, and you've only the ground and basement floors.

Detergent/laundry product is only about one and a half aisles with shelves practically empty. Often saw just one or two bottles of liquid per product and that was it, nothing else behind.

Now maybe being a Friday after Thanksgiving stock was low; but still....

Really no more of a selection than you'd find at local supermarket. In fact when you consider much of what was offer (detergents, fabric softeners, bleach, etc...) was K-Mart's house brand, and of course endless variations of liquid Tide, there wasn't much else bothering about.

Spied one lone bottle of Cheer liquid (blue bottle), but passed. Ditto for the white "free and clear" version. Did see a few bottles of the new Gain "Botanicals", and grabbed a bottle of the orange blossom scent. Figured for $11 bucks and change I just couldn't fail could I?

Standing at check-out line, you know that little tug? The voice like a conscientious governess reminding one "you don't need another bottle of any laundry product", "put it back, you have more than enough for the duration already"... So left the bottle on counter and walked out empty handed.

Have a sinking feeling this particular store isn't long for the world. Sears is circling the drain and indeed as other shops in area were quite busy with "Black Friday" shoppers, the place was rather empty. Am sure the new Target that opened a few blocks away isn't helping either.

 

[rp2813]

Sears just doesn't come to mind for anyone anymore as a shopping destination.  It's been that way for a number of years.  Their stores that remain open are pitiful skeletons of what they once were.  Yet another corporate icon will soon be history. 

 

Amazon is the 21st century's Sears.  It could have been the other way around if Sears had visionary executives in place 20 or so years ago.  If Sears had known what it was doing, Jeff Bezos wouldn't have stood a chance, or at best might have accepted an offer from Sears that he couldn't refuse.

 

And what is Amazon doing now?  Creating a brick and mortar presence.  I'll bet they won't have a Snackette, candy counter or popcorn, though. 

 

[fan-of-fans]

It's funny that Sears appliances are sold on Amazon. I see that as the way it should have been but wasn't, because Sears didn't get online early enough. They should have started as early as 1994 when Amazon did, which is ironically a year after the Sears catalog ended.

I still go to Sears to window shop, look at the latest appliances and Kenmore vacuum cleaners, but I haven't bought anything there in at least a few years.

When our Kmart was having their closing sale I bought a few things I needed that were cheaper. But I will never set foot in a Kmart again because I always saw them as a bit of a joke. Especially now that they sell weird off branded merchandise and can't keep items in stock. Our store was newer and better maintained, so there might still be good Kmart stores out there, but I think most of the good ones have already closed. It's depressing and I see no reason to bother with one, even if I could find one that's still open.

I didn't even like shopping at Kmart 15 years ago because even then it felt like a low end merchandise store to me, and just felt sad.

Kmart should never have bought Sears. They should have stayed on their own and whichever went out of business first should have done so ages ago.

I always liked Sears as a kid and even though they aren't what they were even in the early 90s I'll be sad to see them and their brands go away. There are still things they do way better than Walmart ever could. But that's what we're stuck with now...

 

[63kenmore]

I worked for Montgomery Ward at Christown mall in PHX from ‘79-80, the year I graduated from High School. Although, MW was never a high end store, they did carry name brand items. I also remember them carrying plumbing fixtures and some hardware store type items. I was sad when they went under. It’s hard to imagine Sears heading for the same fate. On another note, there is a Western Auto store here in East TN that only recently closed in the last few months, not sure what they were selling though.

 

[joeypete]

It really depends on the store at this point. Some are doing well and others, obviously not. They have identified about 400 stores nationwide that are profitable and plan on focusing on those locations. I have a Sears in my town and a K Mart within about 15 miles. Both are pretty healthy. The Sears is in much better shape...the K Mart isn't too bad. I was just there a couple of weeks ago to cash in my rewards points. Store wasn't crowded but there was a decent amount of traffic. Only thing is some of their brand name products prices were crazy high. I was a bit shocked. Store brand was fine and comparable to other stores. This store was very well stocked.

The Sears is always a good experience and luckily it's on the list of stores to be "saved".

Granted neither are anywhere near their peak but this is happening to a lot of retailers. Seems as though the only stable ones are Wal Mart and Target.

 

[launderess]

May end up going back and or stopping if in the area. That K-Mart is only place that sells large boxes of Tide "Free and Gentle" HE powder. Am trying to get shot of liquid detergents but local shops only carry that version TF&G.

Local Riteaid even stopped carrying Tide PurClean.