Sears Hardware, dead chain?
Posted: 29 Jul 2011 16:41
Is Sears Hardware kind of an orphan brand now? Like when Acme stopped using the Super Saver name, but kept Super Saver signs on the stores for a while? "Big" Kmart also used to mean something, but I guess it wasn't advertised well and too many stores (usually older Kmarts) sloppily used that name. Same with Pathmark "Super Center". I would think there would be some kind of website for this division of the company. And apparently Ace Hardware has started selling Craftsman products. This seems funny...
Sears Hardware has closed their Marlton, Exton, and Lansdale stores in this area in that order. The Marlton one was an Acme and before that Clover grocery section. In Exton, Sears Hardware was in a center from the early 90's, but the plaza seemed to fail in the early 2000s. Not only Sears Hardware but many other anchors closed or moved. Among them were Clemens Markets, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Rite Aid, and PLCB Wine & Spirits. But now it has made a comeback. The tiny Clemens (started as Shop n Bag) was next to Sears Hardware and the wall was taken down. Not sure which was which, but the two spaces now form a combined Marshalls/HomeGoods. As I recall Marshalls moved from the original Exton Hechinger plaza, which also had and still has a TJ Maxx, even though it was built a few years before TJ Maxx bought Marshalls. The old Marshalls is a Big Lots now. Anyway the Sears Hardware center also was refurbished with a Bonefish restaurant (owned by Outback) and a "Deal$" dollar store (owned by Dollar Tree).
The closing of the Lansdale store sounded like bad news for the center. Genuardi's there closed not long after Sears Hardware, and both lasted 20 years. Sears Optical is gone now too. Rite Aid still has a seemingly high-volume store there, but it was a small Thrift Drug/Eckerd and could use a remodel.
The Sears Hardware I used to go to in Houston was in the same building as an "adult" business! Maybe that was a condition of no zoning, but those places in Houston are known for all kinds of crime. The older Staples (was A&P/Grossman's) in Marlton at least used to have the same problem along with the old Food Fair/Pantry Pride in Sharon Hill. That store has since been Big Lots, then Save-A-Lot, and now Family Dollar.
The only Sears Hardware stores left seem to be in Norristown (old Hechinger), Cobbs Creek (West Philly), and Kennett Square. I am trying to figure out when those last two opened. The Cobbs Creek one was next to an Acme which was Penn Fruit. That Acme MIGHT have been remodeled when Sears Hardware opened (1995?), even though the Acme closed in 2001 and became Ross Dress for Less in 2003. The Kennett Square one has early 2000s "Sears Appliance & Hardware" signs, but those might not be original. Because that store is sort of by itself and in between a Super Fresh shopping center from 1992 and a Wal-Mart/Walmart from 2003.
Sears Hardware has closed their Marlton, Exton, and Lansdale stores in this area in that order. The Marlton one was an Acme and before that Clover grocery section. In Exton, Sears Hardware was in a center from the early 90's, but the plaza seemed to fail in the early 2000s. Not only Sears Hardware but many other anchors closed or moved. Among them were Clemens Markets, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Rite Aid, and PLCB Wine & Spirits. But now it has made a comeback. The tiny Clemens (started as Shop n Bag) was next to Sears Hardware and the wall was taken down. Not sure which was which, but the two spaces now form a combined Marshalls/HomeGoods. As I recall Marshalls moved from the original Exton Hechinger plaza, which also had and still has a TJ Maxx, even though it was built a few years before TJ Maxx bought Marshalls. The old Marshalls is a Big Lots now. Anyway the Sears Hardware center also was refurbished with a Bonefish restaurant (owned by Outback) and a "Deal$" dollar store (owned by Dollar Tree).
The closing of the Lansdale store sounded like bad news for the center. Genuardi's there closed not long after Sears Hardware, and both lasted 20 years. Sears Optical is gone now too. Rite Aid still has a seemingly high-volume store there, but it was a small Thrift Drug/Eckerd and could use a remodel.
The Sears Hardware I used to go to in Houston was in the same building as an "adult" business! Maybe that was a condition of no zoning, but those places in Houston are known for all kinds of crime. The older Staples (was A&P/Grossman's) in Marlton at least used to have the same problem along with the old Food Fair/Pantry Pride in Sharon Hill. That store has since been Big Lots, then Save-A-Lot, and now Family Dollar.
The only Sears Hardware stores left seem to be in Norristown (old Hechinger), Cobbs Creek (West Philly), and Kennett Square. I am trying to figure out when those last two opened. The Cobbs Creek one was next to an Acme which was Penn Fruit. That Acme MIGHT have been remodeled when Sears Hardware opened (1995?), even though the Acme closed in 2001 and became Ross Dress for Less in 2003. The Kennett Square one has early 2000s "Sears Appliance & Hardware" signs, but those might not be original. Because that store is sort of by itself and in between a Super Fresh shopping center from 1992 and a Wal-Mart/Walmart from 2003.