JC Penney Might Be Going Belly Up (Along With Sears)

[tonyb]

... A few blocks from my grandmother's house stood one of the big Art Deco reinforced concrete stores from the Sears company's first build out in 1927-28. The store looked much like this: View attachment 70723

Looks similar to the old main Sears in Seattle. When I first moved there, in '68, Sears occupied the entire structure, as well as a garden center and an auto service in separate one-story structures to the south of the main building. Last I was there, Sears still occupied a piece of the property, but the lion's share of it is now (a sign of the times, if ever there was one) the corporate headquarters of Starbucks.

 

[Zombie_61]

Looks similar to the old main Sears in Seattle. When I first moved there, in '68, Sears occupied the entire structure, as well as a garden center and an auto service in separate one-story structures to the south of the main building. Last I was there, Sears still occupied a piece of the property, but the lion's share of it is now (a sign of the times, if ever there was one) the corporate headquarters of Starbucks.

It's also almost identical to the Sears building in Boyle Heights, California, which is 2-3 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. Completed in June of 1927, it was built to be the mail-order distribution center for the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast states as well as a retail store on the ground floor. As far as I know the ground-floor retail store is still in operation, but the outdated distribution center above (all nine floors) was closed in January of 1992. Ownership of the building has changed hands a few times since then, but it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in April of 2006 so it can't be torn down without a very good reason despite being something of a white elephant these days.

...Speaking of the Sears Tower, you'll never catch any self respecting Chicagoan calling it any different.

I'm not even from Chicago and I still call it the Sears Tower. I guess it'll hold onto that name until we hold-outs all die off.

 

[Fading Fast]

...Speaking of the Sears Tower, you'll never catch any self respecting Chicagoan calling it any different.

I respect and understand that, but my guess, time my change that as well.

In NYC, the Pan Am building was and is a major iconic building (and a beautiful one at that with a stunningly and thoughtfully designed lobby) that, for many New Yorkers, remained the Pan Am building even after Met Life rebranded it in '92.

At that time and for about the next ten to fifteen years, it was mainly the Pan Am building with very few calling it the Met Life building. But in the last ten years, I'd say the pendulum has swung to where I hear more and more referring to it as the Met Life building and I'll even notice a confused look on some when I say the Pan Am building. A kid out of college in '92 (and all those younger than he), who is now about 47 has only known it as the Met Life building.

 

[vitanola]

I respect and understand that, but my guess, time my change that as well.

In NYC, the Pan Am building was and is a major iconic building (and a beautiful one at that with a stunningly and thoughtfully designed lobby) that, for many New Yorkers, remained the Pan Am building even after Met Life rebranded it in '92.

At that time and for about the next ten to fifteen years, it was mainly the Pan Am building with very few calling it the Met Life building. But in the last ten years, I'd say the pendulum has swung to where I hear more and more referring to it as the Met Life building and I'll even notice a confused look on some when I say the Pan Am building. A kid out of college in '92 (and all those younger than he), who is now about 47 has only known it as the Met Life building.

But the Met Life Building is at E23rd St and Madison Square, isn't it? You know, "The Light That Never Fails".

 

[Fading Fast]

But the Met Life Building is at E23rd St and Madison Square, isn't it? You know, "The Light That Never Fails".

That one - the Met Life Tower - is one of my favorite buildings in NYC and much more my style than the Mid Century Modern Met Life / Pan Am building in midtown (which, though, is impressive).

For years, I used to do a lot of investment banking business with First Boston when its main trading floor was in the Met Life Tower and I never tired of marveling at its incredible architecture. You know that company was riding high when it built that building as the expense must have been insane.

Right next door, Met Life also built the equally impressive (and, I'm sure, expensive) pre-war beauty the Met Life North Building which, IMHO, always reminds me of a perfect real-world Superman building if he ever needs another home base than the Daily Planet building.

Met Life North (I could see Superman flying out of this one to save the planet):



And one of my favorite little NYC quirky architecture touches - the skybridge between the two Met Life buildings:

 

[vitanola]

Well, the Met Life tower of 1909 was appended to an 1893 building which was demolished and rebuilt in the Art Moderne style in the 1950's. Between 1960 and 1964 the iconic tower was stripped of its elaborate Renaissance Revival marble cladding and re-covered in Indiana limestone in a slightly more streamlined design than the original. For those unlucky enough to have never lived in The City, here is an image of the original tower with its original cladding and original 1893 office building:

The Met Life North building was originally designed as the base for a 100 story tower. The Depression and war delayed the construction of the building, which was built without the tower, although it retained the necessary foundations and structural elements so that the tower could be built at any time that it was economically justifiable.

This is an image of Met Life North as originally envisioned:

 

[tonyb]

...

View attachment 70805

Strongly resembles my oldest, bestest friend.

 

[MisterCairo]

Sears Canada (the first of which opened in my home town of Stratford, Ontario, as it worked with local Simpsons to form Simpsons-Sears) is in difficulty, closing 20 full stores and several home furnishing and outlet stores.

Mike Meyers' brother, a long term employee, and Mike did a commercial a few years back - "Sears - We are NOT closing" (really). The brother has now been laid off after 36 years, and is not getting any severance pay, as Sears Canada is undergoing bankruptcy protection.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/sears-mike-myers-ad-restructuring-lay-offs-1.4199261

 

[HanauMan]

Real shame. If your family was in the military (my dad was in the army) you will have probably gotten a lot of your clothing out of a Sears catalog somewhere along the line. And don't forget going thru the Sears catalog before Christmas and getting your stuff thru the APO.

 

[MisterCairo]

Real shame. If your family was in the military (my dad was in the army) you will have probably gotten a lot of your clothing out of a Sears catalog somewhere along the line. And don't forget going thru the Sears catalog before Christmas and getting your stuff thru the APO.

The Sears Christmas catalogue is still a tradition in Canada. Growing up, it was an integral part of our list to Santa.

And the Canadian rock band Bare Naked Ladies (best known internationally for the Big Bang Theory theme song) got its name from the fact that boys would look through the lingerie section of the Sears catalogue (and Eaton's, etc.) and say "oh my gosh, look at the bare-naked ladies"!

 

[MisterCairo]

As Sears Canada restructures and prepares to close certain stores, the bankruptcy proceedings have allowed clearance sales, and given that our bankruptcy laws allow for cessation of severance payments and pension contributions, while ALLOWING and indeed encouraging senior executive "retention bonuses", there is a growing backlash and calls for a boycott:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/sears-canada-facebook-restructuring-comments-severance-1.4216351

 

[HanauMan]

The Sears Christmas catalogue is still a tradition in Canada. Growing up, it was an integral part of our list to Santa.

And the Canadian rock band Bare Naked Ladies (best known internationally for the Big Bang Theory theme song) got its name from the fact that boys would look through the lingerie section of the Sears catalogue (and Eaton's, etc.) and say "oh my gosh, look at the bare-naked ladies"!

Yes, I was one of those boys too many a moon ago.

Used to watch TBBT before it got way too stupid, always loved the song as well.

 

[Fading Fast]

Read an article that Sears has just agreed to sell Kenmore appliances on Amazon. My guess, Kenmore's reputation has already shrunk so much (how many people under forty have an opinion either way about Kenmore), that all this will do is throw Kenmore into pure and brutal web commodity price competition while cannibalizing store sales (and reducing much-needed store foot traffic).

 

[totallyfrozen]

Read an article that Sears has just agreed to sell Kenmore appliances on Amazon. My guess, Kenmore's reputation has already shrunk so much (how many people under forty have an opinion either way about Kenmore), that all this will do is throw Kenmore into pure and brutal web commodity price competition while cannibalizing store sales (and reducing much-needed store foot traffic).

If Amazon begins selling the full array of PARTS for kenmore appliances, I'm OK with it. I own several kenmore appliances and I do my own repairs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MisterCairo]

Sears Canada is shutting down; the entire chain will be gone by January 2018:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/liquidation-sale-sears-canada-1.4361930

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/sears-canada-eddie-lampert-brandon-stranzl-1.4367985

The first Sears in Canada, they came here in a partnership with Simpsons (I remember "Simpsons-Sears"), and the first store was in my hometown of Stratford, Ontario the photo in this article is NOT the original store, and is not even the current Stratford store):

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitch...ears-store-stratford-ont-mayor-jobs-1.4352028

Our location, in Stratford Marketplace mall:

http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.co...y-close-between-mid-december-and-late-January