What's to become of the CoolSprings Sears? (Green Hill, Charlotte: leasing, closing)

[groovamos]

What a coincidence to read about Sears here, I went and bought some clothes at Sears a few days ago, the first time I have bought anything at Sears in decades. I admit to going into Sears a few times over the years just as a nostalgia diversion, and also admit to being sad when I walk in. So this time I decided to buy. I can remember back around 1971, with my Vanderbilt campus leftist indoctrination in hand, I touted my indignation that one company could control such a huge piece of the US retail economy. They no doubt were the biggest kid on the block at the Woodfield Mall in 1971, the biggest mall in Chicagoland (Schaumberg, near where their current headquarters sets).

OK so here is my hard sell to help the company keep going. I was amazed at the size of the major appliance display at the store where I bought the clothes. Bigger than Lowe's and H-D. Here is the store I was in, on North Shepherd in Houston. Speaking of nostalgia, this is an architectural history page: http://arch-ive.org/archive/sears-north-shepherd/

[septimus]

I suspect/hope that we get a store like crate and barrel where Sears is currently along with a few other smaller but still large stores. I doubt it will be Ikea.

I'm also sad because I love the Lands End inside sears.

[MetropolitanTN]

I recently went into a Sears as well. I am a simple fashion type of guy so the clothes to me were good. They were also priced well. I purchased some beach wear there.

[alleycat]

Originally Posted by septimus

I suspect/hope that we get a store like crate and barrel where Sears is currently along with a few other smaller but still large stores.

I wish we had a Crate & Barrel store too, although I would prefer it be in Green Hills.

[septimus]

Originally Posted by alleycat

I wish we had a Crate & Barrel store too, although I would prefer it be in Green Hills.

I work in Green Hills and I won't venture near that mall. The traffic/parking overwhelms me. I prefer Cool Springs if I have to go into a mall.

[alleycat]

I wouldn't care whether it's actually in Green Hills Mall. Just in that general area, or perhaps there at West End/Harding at White Bridge. Or even in the Maryland Farms area rather than Cool Springs. Just a personal preference.

[ariesjow]

IKEA is far too large to go in at the Cool Springs Mall without closing significantly more stores and a massive remodel. Basically, it's not going to happen. Von Maur would actually be a great fit. It's a step up from most Macy's and likely much easier to lure than Neiman or Saks. Crate and Barrel might be a possibility, but I think they would like to go to Green Hills before Cool Springs. Large retailers of that caliber tend to cluster with similar retailers. This means C&B would probably rather be near another store like West Elm in a proven submarket like Green Hills so that they are conveniently cross-shopped.

There has been talk for a while about Cool Springs going more upscale, but GH does present a challenge to them as far as attracting high end stores. The economic demographics are unquestionably there, but CBL should have tried to make Cool Springs an upscale shopping destination years ago before Davis Street ever managed to collect all those high-end retailers at GH. The one positive is that GH is getting to the point where buildings will have to start coming down to bring much more shopping to the area.

If CBL is serious about wanting to make Cool Springs more than a typical mall, I would suggest they start by trying to lure a handful of smaller, national retail stores that we don't yet have in the metro like Armani Exchange or Club Monaco. I'm thinking stores that are not necessarily high end, but are not typically found in most neighborhood malls outside of well-heeled areas.

[bigcitymike]

Originally Posted by TVofM

Not quite yet. But they did bungle the K-Mart aquisition big-time. They had an opportunity to turn lowly K-Mart into quite the Walmart competition by stocking them with Craftsman tools, Kenmore appliances, etc. In other words, a neighbor Sears without having to go to a mall. But instead they made no changes to the already lackluster K-Marts and let WalMart and Home Depot have that hardware and appliance biz by default.

OOPS!!

You got it backwards. Kmart bought Sears for $11 billion in 2005.

[raj kapoor]

Von Maur does intend to open in Nashville. Now that the Birmingham store is set to open soon I feel sure that Nashville is their next preferred location in the south. In fact, James von Maur (president) said so. They are also replacing a Sears buyout in Oklahoma City next year. Sound familiar. The minute I read about CBL buying the Sears building I felt confirmed.
It had been discussed that there just wasn't a place in Nashville available for Von Maur and now here it is. I do not think it is a coincidence and the timing is perfect for a 2015 opening. They are set for four openings over the next twelve to fourteen months.

It would definitely bring some panache to CS. Right now it reminds me too much of HH in its hey day.

raj

[tnforlife]

I work at the mall, but we aren't allowed to release any information that hasn't been announced yet. It will be something on the level of Coach, nothing too high end that would rival high end malls in Georgia, Virginia, or North Carolina.

Tennessee isn't ready for stores such as Armani Exchange. Hopefully y'all aren't expecting nothing big...