Our Kmart's Little Caesars was closed with no explanation last Monday. It was ordered by corporate to cut costs. We usually had one associate working it, sometimes two at peak times, and about half our associates had been trained to work in Caesars on an as needed basis. The store manager and district manager were equally surprised since our Caesars was busier than a franchised stand alone Caesars in a neighboring city.
14 replies (most recent on top)
Just out of curiosity, did you store's closing get announced yesterday?
Your manager telling you you're there to stay doesn't necessarily mean it's true. There's a reason businesses are alway 'business as usual ' until the absolute last minute. Doing or saying anything that can cause unrest would make closing even more of a pain than it already is.
That said..the little caesars closing doesn't necessarily mean your store is closing. It could mean anything. It could mean they're trying to cut costs to extend the life of your store. It could mean they're closing the store to make it easier to close the rest of the store later. There's really no telling. All we can do is speculate until the events start to unfold more specifically for your store.
Looking to sub-lease space is not a good sign, and probably not true. Many stores cannot be sublet because of stipulations in the lease contract (think subletting and apartment). Who would be responsible for damage, maintenance, insurance, liability for accidents etc. Also, many building codes will not allow multiple businesses in a space because of fire hazards, bathroom laws, fire exits, entrances, and other codes. Sounds like a plan to shut it down
To the OP, I hate to say this but you can't necessarily believe the company when they tell you that they're not closing your location. On the Sears side preparing for renovations doesn't even mean anything. You can still close. Ask the Charleston SC store about this.
When you work for a company as distressed as ours, anything can happen at any time. One example is yours. The Little Caesar closed "without warning." No it didn't. Obviously someone somewhere knew. They just didn't tell the associates and whoever else. But someone knew because the decision was made to close it.
I am sorry to tell you this, but your store will be closing later this year. That is the very first thing that happened to us last year. Our LC was closed in April and then the store was told that we were closing in September. Just because they are looking to sublease the space doesn't mean anything. We were doing the same and also owned the entire shopping center, which was also looking for tenants. We still closed anyway.
Nothing enhances the kmart shopping experience like cardboard pizza.
The expense of cleaning the bathrooms must've put it in the red
I'm OP. Our store was not announced in the most recent closing list.
During this afternoon's store meeting that topic actually came up. We aren't going anywhere soon, since we are actively seeking a longterm tenant for sublet space that is walled off from our back room.
Perhaps Kmart can't afford Little Caesars franchise fees any longer. If that 4 dollar pizza costs the company $15 to produce and sell because of the restrictiveness of the Little Caesars franchise, then it's a no-brainer to kill it.
Pizza , Pizza. Like it
were you guys part of the announced closing already?
Little Caesars has an independent franchise agreement with each Kmart store containing one. When the property lease is within 12-20 months of its expiration, they do not renew the contract with LC (and usually close the pharmacy) to allow Kmart to wind down both without breaching the contract. This protects Sears Holdings' business credit and legal liability.
Wall Street analysts tracking Kmart believe Eddie is no longer renewing ANY store leases for Kmart. So about 6-8 months before each lease expires, a store closing announcement is issued. But before that, the separate obligations to the pharmacy and LC are wound down. Wall Street considers this fairly strong evidence there is an orderly shutdown of the Kmart format in progress, with the last stores expected to close in about 36 months when those last leases expire.
There are 'sisrer' stores, usually the closest to the closed store that hold the keys and answer alarm calls
Who holds on to the keys/ answers alarm calls on an empty store that still has time on the lease?
Little Caesars are the first to go at a closing store. Just because it was busy makes no difference. The Kmarts in my city were all closed the first of the year and the QMT still has to do store visits on an empty store because the lease is not up yet.
That's too bad. While it wasn't the best pizza, it was nice to be able to get a large pizza for $3.75 from time to time. The one near me had some relatively decent off-menu items like chicken strips and such for cheap.