Getting through this unprecedented pandemic is a real challenge for everyone, even if you’re one of the most famous, over a century-old department store giants.
And so, in Brooklyn, an 88-year-old Sears store has been repurposed for coronavirus testing. The same one that Eleanor Roosevelt helped open on November 5th, 1932. For almost a century, the store has been serving millions of customers with its trademark 100-foot tower and extra-large parking lot. But will it ever again?
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“One of the things that makes Sears so important is its parking lot,” says Robin Redmund, executive director of the Flatbush Development Corporation.
The free for shoppers, 300-car parking lot is rare in Brooklyn, an area known for its dense population. And, even though its stores have closed – since April, this vast parking lot continues to serve the area’s needs throughout the pandemic as one of the five drive-thru COVID-19 testing facilities in New York.
Is this a nice final way for the company to leave a lasting impression on loyal consumers who have been shopping there for decades?
According to CNN, the large department store may not be able to survive the coronavirus crisis. And so the parking lot becomes a symbol.
“They were once the giants of American retail, strong enough to survive wars, the Great Depression, the Great Recession and the rise of online shopping. But Sears, JCPenney, J.Crew and others may not be able to survive the coronavirus crisis.”
Companies in debt or those who were distressed before the outbreak are even less likely to make it afterwards. And it’s no secret that Sears has been closing stores in the past couple of years. It ceased its operations in Canada completely in 2018. While in late 2019, the company published a long list of another 96 store closures, leaving only 182 stores open in the U.S.
Real estate services firm Green Street Advisors, says that by the end of 2021, approximately one-half of U.S. mall-based department stores could close. While liquidation firm, Gordon Brothers, predicts that as of this year, as many as 25,000 stores could permanently close.
J.Crew has already been declared the first national retail casualty of the coronavirus pandemic as month-long lockdown has diminished demand for clothing and other non-essentials.
It’s especially upsetting as the company’s coronavirus updates read “Together with Madewell, we’ve made a donation to supply 75,000 single-use masks to the Montefiore Health System hospitals in New York. Separately, to help keep our customers safe, we’ve made nonmedical, reusable masks from our signature fabrics.”
J.Crew also made donations to other organizations, including the Sweetgreen Impact Outpost Fund and the DonorsChoose Keep Kids Learning program.
The second major retailer to shut during coronavirus times is the 113-year-old chain, Neiman Marcus Group, known for its high-end department stores, who filed for bankruptcy last week.
The unfortunate question is, who will be next?