The Sears at Avenues Mall will Close in December

[I-10east]

Dates of closures can vary. Most Kmart and Sears stores listed are expected to close in December.

California
Carlsbad Sears: 2561 El Camino Real
Eureka Sears: 3300 Broadway
Lakeport Kmart: 2019 S Main St.
North Hollywood Kmart: 13007 Sherman Way
Oakdale Kmart: 175 Maag Ave.
Salinas Kmart: 1050 N. Davis Rd.
Tehachapi Kmart: 710 W. Tehachapi Blvd.

Colorado
Aurora Sears: 14200 E Alameda Ave
Pueblo Kmart: 3415 N Elizabeth St.
Connecticut
Watertown Kmart: 595 Straits Turnpike

Delaware
Bear Kmart: 301 Governor Place
Wilmington Kmart: 4700 Limestone Road

Florida
Jacksonville Sears: 10302 Southside Blvd
Leesburg Sears: 10401 Us Highway 441
Miami Kmart: 3825 7th Street NW
Oviedo Sears: 1360 Oviedo Marketplace Blvd
Vero Beach Kmart: 1501 US 1

Idaho
Lewiston Kmart: 1815 21st St.
Twin Falls Kmart: 2258 Addison Ave E

Illinois
Bridgeview Kmart: 7325 W 79th St.

Indiana
Elwood Kmart: 1519 State Road 37
Kokomo Kmart: 705 N Dixon Rd
Richmond Kmart: 3150 National Rd W
Valparaiso Kmart: 2801 Calumet Ave

Kentucky
Erlanger Kmart: 3071 Dixie Hwy
Somerset Kmart: 420 East Highway 80

Maine
Auburn Kmart: 603 Center Street
Augusta Kmart: 58 Western Ave

Maryland
Gaithersburg Sears: 701 Russell Ave
Stevensville Kmart: 200 Kent Manor Drive

Massachusetts
Brockton Kmart: 2001 Main Street
Webster Kmart: 70 Worcester Road

Michigan
Belleville Kmart: 2095 Rawsonville Road
Clio Kmart: 4290 Vienna Road
Grayling Kmart: 2425 S.1-75 Business
Hastings Kmart: 802 W. State Street
Marine City Kmart: 6730 River Road
Menominee Kmart: 1101 7th Ave
Midland Kmart: 1820 S. Saginaw Road
Oscoda Kmart: 5719 N US-23

Minnesota
International Falls Kmart: 1606 MN-11
Saint Paul Kmart: 245 E Maryland Ave.
Montana

Kalispel Kmart: 2024 US-2 E

New Jersey
Somers Point Kmart: 250 New Road Rte 9
Trenton Kmart: 1061 Whitehorse Ave.
Wall Kmart: 1825 Highway 35
Wayne Kmart: 1020 Hamburg Turnpike

New Mexico
Las Cruces Sears: 700 S Telshor Blvd.
Santa Fe Kmart: 1712 St Michaels Drive

New York
Bath Kmart: 420 W Morris St
Buffalo Kmart: 1001 Hertel Ave
Mattydale Kmart: 2803 Brewerton Road
Yorktown Heights Kmart: 355 Downing Drive

North Carolina
Clemmons Kmart: 2455 Lewisville
Waynesville Kmart: 1209 Russ Ave.
North Dakota

Fargo Kmart: 2301 S University Drive

Ohio
Barberton Kmart: 241 Wooster Road North
Brunswick Kmart: 3301 Center Road
Cincinnati Sears: 4595 Eastgate Blvd.
Grove City Kmart: 2400 Stringtown Road
Harrison Kmart: 10560 Harrison Ave
Heath Sears: 771 S 30th St.

Oklahoma
Clinton Kmart: 2501 Redwheat Drive

Pennsylvania
Chambersburg Kmart: 1005 Wayne Ave
Clifton Heights Kmart: 713 E Baltimore Pike
Doylestown Kmart: 4377 PA-313
Easton Kmart: 320 S 25th St.
Elizabethtown Kmart: 1605 S Market St.
Holmes Kmart: 600 MacDade Blvd
Leechburg Kmart: 451 Hyde Park Road
New Castle Kmart: 2652 Ellwood Road
Shillington Kmart: 1 Parkside Ave.
Towanda Kmart: 328 Ennis Lane
Washington Sears: 1500 W Chestnut St

Puerto Rico
Aguadilla Kmart: Road 2 Km 126.5
Bayamon Sears: 1455 Carr.2
Carolina Kmart: 65th Infantry Ave.
Cayey Kmart: Ave Jesus T Pinero 4
Trujillo Alto Kmart: 200 Carr 181
Yauco Kmart: 601 Yauco Plaza

South Carolina
Greenville Kmart: 1 Kmart Plaza
Lexington Kmart: 748 W Main St
West Columbia Kmart: 1500 Charleston Hwy

Tennessee
Lebanon Kmart: 1443 W Main St

Texas
Corpus Christi Sears: 1305 Airline Road

Utah
St George Kmart: 745 S Bluff Street

Virginia
Chesapeake Kmart: 2001 S Military Hwy
Tabb Kmart: 5007 Victory Blvd

Washington
Aberdeen Sears: 1219 S Boone St.
Everett Sears: 1302 SE Everett Mall Way

West Virginia
Elkview Kmart: 201 Crossings Mall

Wisconsin
Mauston Kmart: 800 North Union
Racine Kmart: 5141 Douglas Ave.
Ripon Kmart: 1200 West Fond Du Lac St.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/08/31/kmart-sears-store-closings-more-locations-shutter-end-2019/2168435001/?fbclid=IwAR3snRyYs5iZyjBY2XMvrBnjwhrBuLpF5XKm0MLvV3a_ySptYgXW1bSx_yM

[thelakelander]

It's about time for Sears to go ahead and put itself out of misery. Do you think this will spark the decline of Avenues Mall?

[Snaketoz]

It's about time for Sears to go ahead and put itself out of misery. Do you think this will spark the decline of Avenues Mall?

No, I don't think the majority care about Sears anymore.  They went from an everything store to an auto service and appliance store, to an appliance store.  Few people thought of Sears for clothing or fashion and they never seemed to keep up with the times.

[Steve]

It's about time for Sears to go ahead and put itself out of misery. Do you think this will spark the decline of Avenues Mall?

A vacant anchor isn't good. Further, Forever 21 is on the edge of bankruptcy, and are likely doing this to close underperforming locations.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2019/08/29/forever-21-considers-filing-for-bankruptcy-reports/#799fa2235bcd

Additionally, JCPenny isn't exactly a Wall Street darling, either. That leaves Dillard's and Belk.


I'd say this: It's likely worse in optics than in day to day impact as we all know how much of today's retail dollar is spent with Sears. I did a long thing for work about Sears a while back - 25 years (minimum) of executive mismanagement led to this.

But, the optics are important and could create an image problem trying to fill vacant spaces.

[thelakelander]

Whenever a mall anchor closes, the smaller shops on that wing tend to follow suit. It will be interesting to see how quick they can find something else to activate and anchor that part of the mall.

[Charles Hunter]

Fuddruckers!!  Will be a Game Changer^TM

[thelakelander]

Maybe COJ could buy the mall, evict the remaining tenants and demolish it.

[Jim]

Whenever a mall anchor closes, the smaller shops on that wing tend to follow suit. It will be interesting to see how quick they can find something else to activate and anchor that part of the mall.

The Sears wing is small and directly connected to the busy food court. Dillard's is also nearby to that wing.  I don't think it will have the same impact on that section of the mall as say a long wing with a lone anchor.

The Avenues is still pretty active and won't quickly decline by losing one anchor.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a new anchor fills it within the year after closing.

[tufsu1]

Maybe COJ could buy the mall, evict the remaining tenants and demolish it.

just need to replace it with something #iconic - like a full flyover interchange connecting Southside Blvd directly with I-95 and I-295! #winning

[Steve]

The Avenues is still pretty active and won't quickly decline by losing one anchor.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a new anchor fills it within the year after closing.

With regard to the Avenues:

I wouldn't be shocked, but I'd be surprised if it's a national anchor:
- Nordstrom isn't likely to put a second store in Jacksonville
- Macy's isn't exactly in the strongest financial position, largely because of Real Estate issues, so that covers Bloomingdale's too (though the latter would NOT be entering Jacksonville anyway).
- I doubt if Saks or Neiman enter the market, they'd enter at the Avenues

If it's filled expect something a little different like Kohl's, Target, something from TJX Perhaps (TJX is TJMaxx/Marshall's/HomeGoods), or something like Best Buy or a large furniture store (Which would be a massive store) as all are doing relatively okay financially. I'm sure Simon would like to stay away from something radically different from retail, as it could cause the Avenues to develop a "Regency" Stigma.

One thing to also consider on the horizon: Retail leases in malls are ideally (for the landlord and management) 10 years. The mall opened in 1990, and in 2000 there was no issues with renewals. In 2010 it was a different story with Town Center coupled with the financial crisis that the country was digging out of. Now comes 2020.

I think if I'm Simon/Landlord, if a good tenant falls in your lap you take it. Otherwise you take a hard look at renewals for the smaller stores before you do anything drastic. This could be a game of chicken for the smaller stores and Simon. I don't THINK you'll see something on the scale of what Dewberry Capital did when they bought the Roosevelt Mall in the late 1990's, but you never know.


With Regard to Sears:

What's different here is that while many of Sears' stores are physically owned by Sears, the store at the Avenues is not (though of note, Belk, JCPenney, and Dillard's DO own their buildings - the latter's ownership at Regency is largely why they went the Clearance Center route). Sears owns the Regency building (earlier this year they did a large sale of real estate to their new corporate structure so you'll see a change in ownership earlier this year). Not sure about the OP Mall and don't feel like looking up the Clay County property appraiser's site.

My belief is this could be it for Sears, which amazingly could have been the Amazon of ecommerce AND Brick and Mortar but they messed it up. Unbelievable.

[tufsu1]

^ City Furniture is making a big push up into central Florida - northeast Florida would be a next logical step

[Jim]

The Avenues is still pretty active and won't quickly decline by losing one anchor.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a new anchor fills it within the year after closing.

With regard to the Avenues:

I wouldn't be shocked, but I'd be surprised if it's a national anchor:
- Nordstrom isn't likely to put a second store in Jacksonville
- Macy's isn't exactly in the strongest financial position, largely because of Real Estate issues, so that covers Bloomingdale's too (though the latter would NOT be entering Jacksonville anyway).
- I doubt if Saks or Neiman enter the market, they'd enter at the Avenues

If it's filled expect something a little different like Kohl's, Target, something from TJX Perhaps (TJX is TJMaxx/Marshall's/HomeGoods), or something like Best Buy or a large furniture store (Which would be a massive store) as all are doing relatively okay financially. I'm sure Simon would like to stay away from something radically different from retail, as it could cause the Avenues to develop a "Regency" Stigma.

One thing to also consider on the horizon: Retail leases in malls are ideally (for the landlord and management) 10 years. The mall opened in 1990, and in 2000 there was no issues with renewals. In 2010 it was a different story with Town Center coupled with the financial crisis that the country was digging out of. Now comes 2020.

I think if I'm Simon/Landlord, if a good tenant falls in your lap you take it. Otherwise you take a hard look at renewals for the smaller stores before you do anything drastic. This could be a game of chicken for the smaller stores and Simon. I don't THINK you'll see something on the scale of what Dewberry Capital did when they bought the Roosevelt Mall in the late 1990's, but you never know.

Neiman Marcus...yeah, probably not.  Saks though...?  I can see that.  They have locations in Raleigh, Richmond, Columbus, Indianapolis, Tulsa, Birmingham.  And I thought they've considered here before.

Target and Best Buy are already right down the street and Kohl's isn't too far.

Why not a Von Maur? They don't have a Florida presence yet. TJX is possible.  Stein Mart might be a smart play for the local company.

[jaxlongtimer]

Sleeper possibility but probably couldn't fill the entire Sears building and more likely for Town Center:  Uniqlo (https://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/home/), the Japanese retailer shooting for $61 billion in sales by 2020 per Wikipedia and the below for the US.  Current nearest store is at Disney Springs in Orlando.

United States
Uniqlo's flagship store in Chicago on the Magnificent Mile

In September 2005, Uniqlo opened the doors to its first United States store in the Menlo Park Mall located in Edison, NJ.[63] In November 2006, Uniqlo opened its first store in the SoHo fashion district of Manhattan, New York City. New fashion designers joined the store's team to boost and rebirth fashion concepts catering to the US market.[64]

As part of Fast Retailing's 2020 plan the company has stated that it plans to generate $10 billion in annual sales in the United States from 200 stores, which will lead to a location in every major U.S. city. This goal was stated when the company's only U.S. presence was its handful of stores in the New York City area,[65] soon after the company began an expansion in the United States.

In October 2015, Uniqlo opened its first store in the Midwest with a Chicago store on Michigan Avenue.[66]

I would actually like to see Home Depot tear down the Sears structure and take over that spot with a more accessible and larger store than the one down the street on Southside Blvd.  Yeah, I know HD isn't a mall occupant normally but if Target can fit in at Town Center, HD can fit in at the Avenues.  And, in Orange Park, HD moved from I-295 and Blanding to directly across from OP mall, the "next best thing" to being at the mall.  .

[Steve]

Neiman Marcus...yeah, probably not.  Saks though...?  I can see that.  They have locations in Raleigh, Richmond, Columbus, Indianapolis, Tulsa, Birmingham.  And I thought they've considered here before.

Target and Best Buy are already right down the street and Kohl's isn't too far.

Why not a Von Maur? They don't have a Florida presence yet. TJX is possible.  Stein Mart might be a smart play for the local company.

I don't see a luxury retailer opening at the Avenues. I think Jacksonville's chance at a Saks likely ended when Saks dumped their Parisian brand on Belk (Parisian was supposed to be a more upscale store than the general market, but not quite to Saks). Even if it does happen, I don't see it at the Avenues.

I suppose Von Maur is a possibility, but aside from their 3 stores in the Atlanta area, and one in Alabama, they have zero southeast presence. I have no idea how they're doing financially (family-owned to this day), but I don't see a Florida expansion unless they plan on doing more than one store in the State (and I see that as HIGHLY unlikely).

SteinMart is in dange of having their stock delisted, so I don't see them in expansion mode, especially in a footprint that's about double the size of their typical stores.

You're right that Target and Best Buy are right down the road....but I have no idea when their leases are up. There is definitely precedence for Target stores in Malls.....a Portland, Oregon Target was the first time I saw a Cart Escalator!

I think the definite thing here is....to me this isn't going to be an easy fill - especially if Forever 21 closes their store at the same time which I think absolutely will happen. Their stores AVERAGE under 40k SqFt. Their store at the Avenues has to be about 150k SqFt. Save for Home Improvement Stores or Warehouse Clubs, by and large retailers are experimenting with smaller stores not larger ones, as retail is slowly moving more online.

[thelakelander]

I definitely don't see Target moving there. They just invested a ton of money renovating their store down the street.