There’s life after Sears, even for Sears, in Washington state. Here’s a store update
As holiday nostalgia kicks in this month, a familiar brand from the past has made a modest return to Washington and California.
Former retail giant Sears reopened its Union Gap store Nov. 6 at Valley Mall after closing the location last December.
A second Sears store reopened in October in Burbank, California.
Recent Facebook posts from the Union Gap store highlight current sales, including Kenmore refrigerators.
A Union Gap store employee briefly spoke by phone to The News Tribune on Friday but did not give her name as she was not authorized to speak on behalf of the company.
She told The News Tribune that customer traffic had been good and the store was “No. 2 in sales,” among Sears sites.
The Union Gap Valley Mall store was slated for a reopening this year as some version of a new Sears store, a store-liquidation manager told the Yakima Herald-Republic in late 2022.
When Sears merged with Kmart in the mid-2000s, they had nearly 3,500 stores. Sears today has around 13 U.S. stores remaining and a handful of Kmart sites, including three in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
For comparison, in 2023 Target has more than 1,900 U.S. stores; Macy’s has just over 500.
Besides its store in Union Gap, Washington state’s other remaining Sears store is at Tukwila’s Westfield Southcenter.
Relaunch of store brand
The Union Gap comeback appears to be tied to Sears’ revival in Puerto Rico.
According to San Juan, Puerto Rico’s El Vocero news outlet, Sears’ parent company, Transformco, aligned with three Puerto Rico companies to help stock new stores.
The July 27 report mentioned the first mainland retail relaunch for Sears would be in Washington state and California, part of a “Rediscover Sears” campaign, which the Union Gap store has promoted.
“Delayed by the pandemic, it was not until a year ago that the new owners began the transformation of the brand from Puerto Rico,” according to the report. “The San Juan store has become the benchmark to be replicated in other states.”
Included in the retailer’s Puerto Rico work were plans for a new store focused on sports and summer clothing and accessories called I Love Puerto Rico, according to the report.
Sears’ website offers links to its other sites representing Kenmore, Kmart, Sears Parts Direct, Sears Home Services and Sears Puerto Rico.
Transformco did not immediately respond to questions from The News Tribune on Friday, including whether more stores would be opened in the state next year.
Former store sites
Sears departed the Tacoma Mall in 2018, the same year its Puyallup store at South Hill Mall was added to closures amid the retailer’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
At South Hill Mall, Round1 Bowling & Amusement took up most of the former Sears space. Two other new businesses, New Level 360 and Goldfish Swim School now occupy the rest of the space.
At the Tacoma Mall, the Sears store was demolished in 2019. New external retail centers have since been added, bringing Nordstrom Rack, Total Wine & More and a small-format Kohl’s, among others.
There also are plans for a new lifestyle village, set to bring more construction for both retail shops and restaurants. Site development plans were originally proposed in 2018 and submitted to city planners in September of this year. Those are awaiting re-submittal and revisions, according to the City of Tacoma’s online permit portal as of Dec. 15.
A former Tacoma Sears Outlet, 5401 6th Ave., Suite 515, was rebranded as American Freight in spring 2020.
The Sears Outlet division was acquired by Delaware, Ohio-based Franchise Group Inc. in October 2019. In February 2020 Franchise Group acquired American Freight, a discount furniture, mattress and appliance vendor, and combined it with Sears Outlet under the American Freight brand.
Franchise Group’s other business lines include Pet Supplies Plus, The Vitamin Shoppe, Buddy’s Home Furnishings and Sylvan Learning, among others.
Franchise Group itself was acquired by a consortium investment group led by its senior management in the summer of 2023 for $2.6 billion, and taken private.
This story was originally published December 18, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
