Farm Fresh Selling Out and Closing Stores.

     Another grocery chain tugging at the reins in this complicated time of retail. Farm Fresh located within the Virginia Beach, Virginia area is selling 21 of its 38 locations to several other competitors including Harris Teeter, Food Lion and Kroger. Minneapolis-based Supervalu who owns Farm Fresh as well as several other regional grocery chains across the country had announced it will be closing and selling most of there locations to other groceries in the area.

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You Will Be Missed...

Oakbrook Center Construction Progress 3/18

     The upscale open air shopping mall, Oakbrook Center certainly has seen some changes in the last few years. It has been far too long since an update on the current renovations of the former Sears anchor...more of a reason to document the current progress at the mall. Much of the former Sears has been demolished and the new structure is being constructed to form a new kids entertainment venue called Kidzania and future shopping choices...as well as what will be the new downsized Sears store opening this fall. I will not go into detail about Sears returning to Oakbrook Mall...if they do, the store wont last long...I imagine the lease will be sold off before the store is even built so another tenant can immediately be added to the new construction.

Here is my post featuring Sears as it is liquidating in summer 2017.

Here is my post of Sears in August 2017.

Other updates and pictures can be viewed on Trip to the Malls Facebook page.

New construction in the North direction facing toward Rt-83

Pottery Barn is still open and this wing is toward the Nordstrom.

There is an existing L.L.Bean in this photo that will be moving into the new development according the the contractors website.

Proof that Sears promises to return to Oakbrook....I can't wait to shop there.

Looking in the distance is the AMC that was built in late 2015- early 2016.

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Bachrach Closing Remaining Stores.

     The last of an over century old textile supplier is about to be a thing of the past. Bachrach has announced it will shut down the last remaining locations after years of closures and decline.

     Here are the last remaining Bachrach stores currently open for now. Founded in 1877 in Decatur, Illinois, operating 79 stores at its peak, are down to just 14 locations throughout the Midwest and Northeast. Despite high quality customer service and superior merchandise, that doesn't hold a candle to the comfort of your own desk to shop online.

Pulled from the companies website, here are the remaining locations in the country.

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Claire's Boutique's Preparing For Bankruptcy

Abercrombie & Fitch Closing 60 Stores

     The teen apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has announced it will be closing 60 stores this year. With malls crumbling and shopping trend shifting to online with no looking back, cuts have to be made however to remain profitable. Abercrombie also owns another clothing chain, Hollister, that sells close to the same exact clothing. Locations destined for closure are likely leases that are up for renewal in shopping centers and malls with high vacancy rates, where naturally the stores would be less profitable.

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Footlocker Closing 110 Stores

     Although everyone needs shoes...not everyone buys shoes at shoe stores anymore. Foot Locker announced they will be closing 100 stores over the course of this year although open 40 new locations, according to Business Insider.

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Best Buy Mobile Closing All Stores

     Best Buy has announced it will be closing all 250 of its mobile stores, commonly found in shopping malls. According to Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly, and quoting Fortune Magazine...

   "The mall-based mobile stores, at 1,400 square-feet only 3% the size of a regular Best Buy, were opened a decade ago well before the smartphone boom ushered in by Apple’s iPhone and when margins were higher. But no more."

“Fast forward to 2018 and the mobile phone business has matured, margins have compressed and the cost of operations in our mobile standalone stores is higher than in our big box stores,” Joly said in the letter.

     Best buy should be doing very well considering the demise of HHGregg and Radioshack for electronics and appliance sales and decline at Sears for Whirepool and electronic sales. Although many mobile carriers sell all the latest phones and plans, Best Buy having another set of stores to focus solely on mobile devices and services, doesn't make sense considering the exact same products and services can be found at the conventional Best Buy location. Having small format stores in the mall was the thought of being convenient to shoppers, well now the only convenience in retail is to purchase what you want online, so to remain competitive in today's market, this decision is definitely the right move for Best Buy.

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The Land Of Nod Closing

     The children's mystical fixtures and furniture division of Crate & Barrel is closing up shop, but not so fast. Crate & Barrel have closed nearly all of The Land Of Nod locations last year, but will consolidate the remaining locations and incorporate the theme within current Crate & Barrel locations, according to the Chicago Tribune.  The new Crate & Kids department in Crate & Barrel will sell a lot of the same merchandise, but most it will be available online. Locations in Chicago, Oak Brook, and an outlet in Naperville have closed already.

The Land of Nod was formerly based in Morton Grove, IL and Crate & Barrel is currently based in Northbrook, IL.

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