BLUELIGHT NEWS FLASH: New Year Closings

It's a new year so that (sadly) means more Kmart and Sears closings. As the once great retailers continue a rather slow demise, a massive list of closures has just recently been announced through various media outlets. Although I was planning to post a more picture-filled post, myself, along with the help of a few others, have taken the time to compile a list of closures announced as of this moment. Keep in mind it is very likely that more stores will be added to this list, so if any more are announced, I'll do my best to edit them in later.

SEARS:
San Mateo, CA
Fort Gratiot, MI
Memphis, TN (Poplar Avenue)
Rome, GA

KMART:
Dothan, AL
Florence, AL
Glendale, AZ
Prescott Valley, AZ
Anahiem, CA
Chula Vista, CA
Citrus Heights, CA
Daytona Beach, FL
Tampy Bay, FL (Lutz)
Milledgeville, GA
Honolulu, HI (Nimitz Highway)
Ottumwa, IA
Boise, ID
Pocatello, ID
Canton, IL
Terre Haute, IN
Topeka, KS (Tyler St)
Ironwood, MI
Dundas, MN
Virginia, MN
Greenville, MS
Boardman, OH
Steubenville, OH
Zanesville, OH (Maysville Pike)
Exton, PA
Mitchell, SD
Pierre, SD
Clarksville, TN
Cleveland, TN
Longview, TX
North Logan, UT 
Superior, WI
Cedar Bluff, VA
Covington, VA
Virginia Beach, VA (suspected to be General Booth Blvd)                                              

This is the last Kmart in the Terre Haute area, so its sad to Kmart leaving even more markets. This will also leave Southwestern Virginia with only two Kmart locations in Abingdon and Whytheville, the second of which I found to be the worst Kmart I ever stepped foot in.

UPDATE: Previously the last remaining Kmart in Memphis, TN was on this list. Apparently it was confused with the Sears closing and therefore the Kmart in Memphis is remaining open for now....

Although this portion of news is a little late and has nothing to do with Sears Holdings, Macy's also plans to close 40 locations in early 2016. 3 of which are located in the Twin Tiers coverage area and in others part of the country, some of which are at healthy malls.

The Horseheads, NY Macy's location is of 40 stores listed to close nationwide. 

In addition the Macy's at the Arnot Mall, which I will do post on in the not too distant future, Macy's will also be closing two stores in the Buffalo area at the Eastern Hills Mall and McKinley Mall. I haven't really ventured into Buffalo for pictures too much to date. At the moment, all I have from the Buffalo area is two of the four Kmart locations along with the retail sights in one community that one of the Kmart stores is located in. I do plan to eventually capture more of the Buffalo region, but it will not be for some time now that winter is FINALLY in place.

Macy's at the Arnot Mall: This is honestly kind of a surprise to me. This mall is healthy and in fact this closure would make the first empty anchor spot in years for this mall. It may take some time for a replacement though.

For the Buffalo stores: This doesn't come as good news for the Eastern Hills Mall. Already dealing with the loss of Dave 'N Busters, Macy's closing isn't likely to help the slowly dwindling store count. Only time will tell what effects this will have. I have some serious doubts about a replacement here.

I'm not sure about the McKinley Mall though, since it seems to fare a little better from what I've read through reviews and history on it on various sites.

Outside of the Twin Tiers: One location which surprises me that is on this list is Hangerstown, MD. The mall here is extremely healthy and is right off of the heavily traveled Interstate 81. I doubt this particular location to be empty long.

Century III Mall near Pittsburgh may possibly have a death blow with this announcement....

Since this is more of a informational post, I'll try to get a more picture-filled post up by the end of work week.