Kmart #7677

As the only department store in the entire county of Allegany, this Kmart is indeed a busy location in the town of Wellsville. I had the chance to visit my 'back-up' Kmart and not much has changed since last visit, therefore I do not have any pics to post from that visit. (There's that reason and I didn't bring my camera....)

Just like the Olean location we took a look at last month, this location was also a relocation of an older store. The older location has since been subdivided into Tractor Supply, AutoZone and a Family Dollar. 

The original Wellsville Kmart

I'd also make mention that the very retro McDonald's, which was the blog's first picture-filled post, sits in the parking lot of this former Kmart location.

This location is also a '90s build, though  I cannot pinpoint the exact year of opening. As you can see from the store map above, this location currently has a pharmacy and Little Caesars pizza station. 

Little Caesars updated their signage to remove the pizza station tagline. Here's some before and after photos:

Exterior before.

Exterior after. Note the scar from the circle sign.

Interior before:

Interior after:

Now for a look at the rest of the store:

Former portrait studio at a later date. Note the signage has been removed.

Random appliances.

The electronics counter is still in use at the Wellsville Kmart location.

The store is a definite leased location as it is a part of a plaza as you can see the below:

Rating: 9 out of 10. This location is always busier than some of the other Kmart locations I've visited. It also is the only department store in Wellsville and it has an operational eatery option with Little Caesars. The only thing it could do more is use the newest style of signage instead of the more common 1990s style signage. 

In Danger of Closing?
Unlikely. This location has no competition from any other department store at the moment. There is a chance it could close if its lease expires, but I would expect Kmart re-negotiate the lease and keep this store open. 

Walmart has stated an interest in opening in Wellsville for over the last 6 years. And although Walmart has plans and all the permits it needs to build for at least the last year, they still have not yet broke ground. If Walmart were to build, then this Kmart would have a much higher chance of closing.

Kmart #7695

Effective immediately, I've decided to do something new for 2016. Once a month, I will be making a post about one of the multiple Kmart locations I've visited, both in the blog's coverage area and out. A post will occur at some point every month about a Kmart location until I do not have a store left to make a post about. I will also be scoring and rating each location. 

As for basic background information, I'll try to fill in what information I know. I won't know all details for some locations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What better way to start this new idea by taking a look at my local Kmart store. For obvious reasons, I have taken the most pictures of any one Kmart at this store. Before we get into the pictures, lets get some basic information:

This store, built in 1995, replaced a smaller location from the nearby town of Allegany, NY.

Former Kmart plaza.

Exterior photos from two different seasons:

Kmart's road sign.

What does this Kmart location feature?

Pharmacy

Layaway

Moneyhub

This is the only Kmart I know of to feature Moneyhub.

Previously the Olean Kmart operated a stand alone K-Cafe, but it literally closed forever this month. Here's some photos of the cafe while it was still operational:

The cafe is now closed and in the dark.

It also had a portrait studio and a former photo development service as seen below:

The 1-hr photo lab has been converted into another stockroom.

This store also has a large appliance department (which was actually dubbed Sears in Kmart), but we'll take a look at that later in the post. Here's some photos from various spots inside the store. Some of the below photos are older, hence the date stamp.

Former Customer Services location.

Customer Services features the newest style of courtesy desk.

Appliances were in the back of the store when they were first introduced at the Olean Kmart. Appliances has since moved in with electronics as a part of Kmart's electronics shrinkage. More on that later.

Mirror in automotive looking across the store.

The infamous Kmart coolers.

Pantry

Garden Shop

Pharmacy and front offices area finds:

There is even a computer where you can shop in store if you want:

I mentioned that the appliances department was shuffled around at this location when Kmart dropped a lot of electronics products to make room for appliances. Since this store was already selling appliances, it made things a little interesting.You will first see some older photos of the before arrangement followed by the current state. 

Electronics mirror view.

What it currently looks like: (Electronics takes half the space it previously did)

The old appliances dept has become a space for more furniture:

As a result of the shuffle, a mini stockroom was made for appliances with shelves at the front of the store:

Here's a few more photos before the store's review:

Even though the store has gone through a number of changes over the past three years alone, and unlike the cafe, it still seems to do fairly well. Its unfortunate that it lost its cafe as that will now make that area wasted space. Another change that the Olean Kmart has faced is that it is not owned by Sears Holdings anymore as it once was. It is know leased by Sears Holdings as a part of the REIT plan. 

Rating: 7 out of 10. Although this location is now a leased location, it still seems to be busier than most locations. Points taken for the lack of a cafe making wasted space. I could easily bump the store's score if it were to add new signage. 

Is this store in danger of closing? 
Anything is possible especially with Sears Holdings. The leasing agreement between Sertiage and Sears Holdings is rather inexpensive. At a rather cheap rate, I don't expect a closure right away. Keep in mind though that if anyone makes an offer to move in to any Kmart or Sears, that location may pack up even if it does good business whether is it is a leased location or not. This is the reason why the Daytona Beach, FL Kmart store is closing. 

Unless the entire company closes, I could see this store ultimately shrinking at one point.

You can find more photos of this store on my Flickr photostream.