Von Maur

[Oil Capital]

I'm wondering if Sears may have a behind the scenes Gentlemens agreement with Walmart. The county assessors site still shows Sears owning the land the neighborhood market occupies on 44th. I'm willing to bet they were considering moving the store elsewhere and Walmart probably has a contract for lease to own and first dibs on the Sears store site. They could easily build a Supercenter on that site and convert the existing store into retail lease space.

Don't think so. If you are referring to the Neighborhood Market at 44th and S Western, that land is shown as owned by Wal-Mart. (4420 S Western Ave). The Sears store on S. Western (4400 S. Western) is owned by Sears.

[Larry OKC]

That isn't all that untypical. The parent company of HomeTown/Ryans/FireMountain recently filed for bankruptcy reorganization and the manager of the Hometown at 63rd & NW Exprswy knew nothing about it.

[CuatrodeMayo]

I imagine this store would be a good fit:

http://www.belk.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belk

[Spartan]

Maybe a Steve & Barry's Amalgamated Universe will also move into this abandoned Sears...for at least a year or so.

[soonerliberal]

I imagine this store would be a good fit:

http://www.belk.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belk

I agree that would be a good place for a Belk.

... and then for the dream: life would be really joyful if we could get Penney's to sell out their spot in Penn Square and get a Nordstrom.

[oneforone]

Don't think so. If you are referring to the Neighborhood Market at 44th and S Western, that land is shown as owned by Wal-Mart. (4420 S Western Ave). The Sears store on S. Western (4400 S. Western) is owned by Sears.

There was no think so or don't think so about it.

I used the map search feature to pull that information. I didn't use the address search. They have not updated the map (and probably won't update the map until they do the next aerial photo.) That's how I came up with that. I always use the map search because the address search is too time consuming and is full of error messages.

Since we are being anal about it American Greetings and Red Box also have deeds listed at that address.

[Oil Capital]

There was no think so or don't think so about it.

I used the map search feature to pull that information. I didn't use the address search. They have not updated the map (and probably won't update the map until they do the next aerial photo.) That's how I came up with that. I always use the map search because the address search is too time consuming and is full of error messages.

Since we are being anal about it American Greetings and Red Box also have deeds listed at that address.

?? Whatever method you used, it seems to have caused you to post incorrect information. The Neighborhood Market at 44th and s. western is owned by Wal-Mart, according to the assessor's records. The nearby Sears store is owned by Sears. The record also clearly shows that Wal-mart bought the property from Sears in 2003 (I.e., Sears no longer owns the property).

The records also show personal property at the Neighborhood Market address that is owned by Redbox and by American Greetings. There are no deeds shown for Redbox or American Greetings. If you visit that Neighborhood Market you will probably find a Redbox and an American Greetings greeting card display.

[oneforone]

Whatever. I explained my source go gripe about something else.

[Oil Capital]

Whatever. I explained my source go gripe about something else.

Don't take yourself so seriously, dude. There is no gripe or attack here. Merely a simple correction of a misstatement of fact.

[SoonerDave]

Seeing that Sears on 44th slowly go to seed is really sad. That whole Sequoyah-Reding shopping center used to be a really vibrant retail area back in the day. My mom loved to shop at Streets, which was a very nice locally owned ladies clothing store, think there was a Kerr's that became a TG&Y Family Center, and the gone-but-not-forgotten Dodson's Cafeteria at the far north end....sorry, sorry, I digress

[Jettmiester]

I've read an article online where quail springs stated they have a tennant established already for the vacant sears. What that means exactly is unknown. Being large retail growth is pretty much at a stand still, I would bet the building is razed and an expansion for smaller square footage retail and restaurant space is built.

I used to do A LOT of business with Sears. But due to their lack of great guest service and pushy sales people selling home improvements upstairs at the quail location (have any of you ran into her?) I quit doing business with them altogether. Very sad.

I look forward to what they do when Sears vacates.

[ShiroiHikari]

I wouldn't be surprised if Sears goes out of business for good in a few years. Their stores haven't been nice in a long time and apparently Craftsman tools ain't what they used to be.

[SoonerDave]

I wouldn't be surprised if Sears goes out of business for good in a few years. Their stores haven't been nice in a long time and apparently Craftsman tools ain't what they used to be.

Craftsman tools have been a joke for years. They used to be really good, then they went in the toilet. Their power tools are the worst; cheaply made, cheap parts, the whole bit. Plenty of better value options out there.

I think what has happened to Sears is terrible. The store at 44th looks awful, and the company itself never figured out how to reinvent itself once catalog sales went by the boards. Sad part is that, with the right management, Sears could have been a leader in the online sales movement..as it is, they're just a corpse the rest of us are just waiting on to stop twitching..

[bbhill]

I can't wait to see Sears go. Sure, it will be sad to see the last of the major mall electronics departments go, but Sears has been meh for the last ten years. There is literally nothing there that I've seen that you can't get for cheaper and better at JCPenney, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Tires Plus, or the internet. I guess it will be a sad day when you can't buy a tv, washing machine, lawn mower, tool set, prom dress, new tires, tuxedo, and hearing aids in the same building. I'd venture to say that Sears will continue on in extremely small markets only until they keel over.

[oneforone]

Don't take yourself so seriously, dude. There is no gripe or attack here. Merely a simple correction of a misstatement of fact.

I am not the one that made a big deal about it.. Most of the stuff posted on here is not fact is based on gossip. Most of us read this for entertainment. People like you and Metro ruin the experience because you want to play hall monitor and throw up a flag every time you find something wrong.

90% of the information posted here is based on gossip and news stories from local media outlets that don't even attempt to get the full story.

This is not a court of law, a legal document or anything of the sort. It's a DISCUSSION BOARD!

Stop trying to be the teachers pet. It's just as annoying now as it was in grade school. Yet, I am sure your wonder why nobody likes and you have no friends. It might be the fact that you feel the need to correct everyone in a world that is full of mistakes.

[Patrick]

Yeah, GGP purchased the space so they'd have control over it when Sears does close at Quail Springs in 2013. This will avoid the problem Crossroads had trying to get control of the Wards space when Wards went out of business. But, last I talked with GGP, they have no plans lined up for the space, and nobody interested in the space, as of yet. Truth be known, Quail Springs is really hurting right now. A lot of the larger national retailers are leaving the mall, because their stores at Penn Square are selling 2-3 times the volume of their stores at Quail Springs. That's why the entire Abercrombie chain left the mall, and Gap is considering the same. Although I'm not a big fan of that mall anyways, I honestly believe that Quail Springs is in a troubled spot right now, and if they don't repair the hole in the ship, it's going to sink just like Crossroads has.

[MikeOKC]

Yeah, GGP purchased the space so they'd have control over it when Sears does close at Quail Springs in 2013. This will avoid the problem Crossroads had trying to get control of the Wards space when Wards went out of business. But, last I talked with GGP, they have no plans lined up for the space, and nobody interested in the space, as of yet. Truth be known, Quail Springs is really hurting right now. A lot of the larger national retailers are leaving the mall, because their stores at Penn Square are selling 2-3 times the volume of their stores at Quail Springs. That's why the entire Abercrombie chain left the mall, and Gap is considering the same. Although I'm not a big fan of that mall anyways, I honestly believe that Quail Springs is in a troubled spot right now, and if they don't repair the hole in the ship, it's going to sink just like Crossroads has.

Patrick, What is it with Simon? They seem to just know how it's done. If I know a mall is a Simon mall, I know to expect quality. The same can't be said for some of the others. What is it about Simon? Is it higher standards? Management? I know nothing of that business but have wondered about this for a long time.

[oneforone]

I could see JCPenney being the first to pull the plug after Sears. Their free standing stores are doing really well. I know Moore and Midwest City are constantly packed. They could easily relocate to Edmond or East or West on the Kilpatrick.

My money would be Macarthur and Memorial or I-35 and 15th. Both are about explode because INTEGRIS and Mercy are positioned to expand rapid over the next 5-10 years in those areas. Saint's will likely build their place on I-35 and 15th in the coming year or two.

If I were GGP I would look at revamping the mall to combination Mains Street style Power Center and Mall.

[Patrick]

Patrick, What is it with Simon? They seem to just know how it's done. If I know a mall is a Simon mall, I know to expect quality. The same can't be said for some of the others. What is it about Simon? Is it higher standards? Management? I know nothing of that business but have wondered about this for a long time.

Well, Simon is the nation's largest mall management and ownership company. But, I wouldn't say all of their properties are top notch. I do think good management plays a role, but I think demographics also play a big part. Just remember that Simon also owned Heritage Park Mall and Eastland Mall in Tulsa, and both are now basically gone. But, that was more due to a shift in demographics, and Eastland never really had much of a run anyways. I don't think it was ever at 100% capacity, although I could be wrong on that. But, with Quail Springs, GGP is really mismanaging that mall. They're in a really good demographical area with all of the newer high end residential areas sprouting up all around it. I mean, just think, Gaillardia and Rose Creek are both in their demographical area. I think GGP was headed down the right road with the mall when they did their last renovation and poured millions into the renovation, but I think their main mistake with the renovation was trying to make the mall more of a destination for middle class families, by adding things like the movie theater, the children's play area, the Route 66 themed food court, middle of the road floor treatments with a prairie look, etc. Their focus on store selection was also geared more for stores that would attract families. Problem is, the middle class isn't that dominant right now, and those that are part of the middle class aren't shopping at the mall, but instead are shopping at big box retailers like Target and Wal-Mart. Shortly after GGP did the renovation at Quail, Urban Retail Inc., owner of Penn Square at the time, poured milions into the mall on upscale amenities like marble floors, marble planters and other treatments, and the like; they also spent money giving upscale retailers incentives to move into their mall. They chose not to go after the big movie theater, knowing that would only lead to teen problems, and instead focused on securing better retailers. That's why they still have a suck movie theater....that's simply not their focus.

[MikeOKC]

Thanks for the informative post, Patrick. I was reading after I asked you the question last night about how Simon actually wanted to buy General Growth on a couple of different occasions and things never worked out. I suppose you are correct about not all Simon malls being top-notch. I just know the ones I frequent are usually Simon, so I just assumed. It seems an interesting business to be sure. Thanks again for taking the time for such a thorough response.

[Patrick]

Thanks for the informative post, Patrick. I was reading after I asked you the question last night about how Simon actually wanted to buy General Growth on a couple of different occasions and things never worked out. I suppose you are correct about not all Simon malls being top-notch. I just know the ones I frequent are usually Simon, so I just assumed. It seems an interesting business to be sure. Thanks again for taking the time for such a thorough response.

Yeah, the final straw for Simon not buying GGP was probably when GGP filed bankruptcy. Simon already has enough capital debt itself, and it didn't need to take on anymore. And they simply didn't see where adding GGP to their portfolio would increase it's value by much, especially given the increased debt burden. The only thing it really would've done for Simon is enlarge their presence in the mall ownership and management sector.

Simon is just like any other major corporation. They have great assets in their portfolio as well as rotten eggs. And, like with any major corporation, they have to invest their capital in their properties that are going to turn a bigger profit. So malls like Penn Square and Woodland Hills in Tulsa get larger amounts of investment capital compared to Heritage Park and Eastland....they actually don't own HP anymore, but this was the case when they did own it. Prior to HP closing, some asked by Simon wouldn't invest more capital into renovating the mall. The simple answer is that it was a smaller regional mall located in a declining part of Midwest City, a town not known for being upscale. So, it just didn't make financial sense to invest more into Heritage Park. They could get a bigger return on their investment by selling Heritage Park for scrap and investing the return into Penn Square. This is just an example of how corporate decisions are made.

[Thunder]

Too many long posts, so skipping them all. It's quite sad when an iconic company like Sears have to struggle while people shamelessly contribute to Walmart's empire. I hope the location in Midwest City will remain open while I'm still alive.

[Larry OKC]

Sears was the Walmart of its day.

[OklahomaNick]

Lot's of companies are selling their buildings as a means of getting all the debt and operations cost off their balance sheets.
This is a pretty national trend. This does not mean gloom and doom for Sears.. Yet!

[UncleCyrus]

Sale completion announced today: http://www.searsholdings.com/pubrel/...310_item127012