UPDATED INFORMATION BISHOP STORE WILL BE CLOSING
Transformco , the company that owns Kmart and Sears announced 45 Kmart locations will close in February. Sadly, included in the list is the Bishop location. Additionally, 51 Sears stores will also close. Liquidation sales are planned December 2. In the past 15 years, over 3500 Sears and Kmart stores have closed resulting in over 250,000 lost jobs. This leaves 182 stores remaining between both brands. Please scroll down the list for other Kmart closures, as Sears locations are listed first.
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We will update this story and local impacts as more details emerge.
Management at Bishop’s K-Mart is “not allowed to discuss,” but Sierra Wave has learned from a reliable source, the store will be holding liquidation sales in February.
While this does not constitute confirmation of the closing, there is an assumption of something to discuss—as opposed to a firm denial.
The store’s managers were informed of the closing Tuesday, the other employees were informed Wednesday, according to the source.
At least the store will be open through the Christmas toy-shopping season.
We need to look on the bright side:
According to Bishop Chamber Executive Director Tawni Thomson, the Big 5 will have 17 positions to fill when it opens in the Rite-Aid shopping center north of town.
This is an opportunity for area retailers to expand their offerings to take up the slack. Owens Valley residents will still need affordable sweat shirts, underwear, linens, pots and pans.
Locals will not necessarily have to make four- to six-hour round trips to Ridgecrest, Carson City or Lancaster. Bishop already has examples of retailers stepping up to fill consumer needs: High Country Lumber has a garden section to compensate for the loss of Bishop Nursery. Stores like the Grocery Outlet and Bishop Art Supply have a range of goods beyond what their names imply.
Hopefully, the Owens Valley’s loss won’t be Amazon’s gain.
Maybe our City planner and Council should step up and do really do something about our half empty retail places? Allowing Vons to lease the other vacant space is very close to a crime in my opinion.
It’s certainly not in our cities best interest!
I hope something good happens to Bishop. I used to fish the Eastern Sierras and my ffirst stop arriving was to Culver’s, then K-Mart, then Vons. KMart was never oerly busy and they had a good stock of everything. People will start shopping online for the deals.
Indoor Go-Kart race track!!!
Ice skating, ballroom dancing, ping pong, roller skating, endless possibilities!
I think this is a good thing for our town. It could help revitalize Main Street. Smaller retail shops can’t offer the discounts of big box stores, and because K-mart has been here they haven’t stocked the items K-mart sells. But if there is no box store, the smaller stores… Read more »
Kmart owns the building. They will most likely keep it just in case the company can turn things around later on. The building is not going to become something that competes with Kmart.
Target may replace it, they’re going into a former Kmart store that closed almost a year ago In Placerville, CA. The shopping center is called Prospectors Plaza.
Kmart or as it should really be called China import junk. Is failing because of pore management. And because of massive online stores. If a chain store carries quality merchandise maybe it would do better against the internet
Kmart needs a better skin care regimen, Eric?
Any chance it could be replaced with a Target? Or Walmart?
Big 5 is located in Bishop Plaza. Rite Aid is located in Bishop Plaza.
Sad for those who may be out of a job.
Walmart? Keep wishing. It’s the new world order. You’d better move back to the city.
Hopefully Target or Walmart will take over the space!
If a large department store like K Mart can’t make it in Bishop,I doubt Walmart or Target will “target” this area to build…
Kmart has been mismanaged for years, or how about decades? I never completely stopped shopping there, but almost for the past 15 years or so. They couldn’t make it because of their corporate dysfunction, not because they didn’t get enough business.