13 replies to this topic

[mediamongrel]

For most cities Kmart doesn't even begin to touch Walmart's territory.  Ignoring all of the profit totals (and foot traffic), it is still interesting to note that Asheville still has more Kmarts than Walmarts.  As far as I can tell the Kmarts (Tunnel Rd, Patton Ave, Brevard Rd, and Hendersonville Rd) still outnumber the three Walmarts (Bleachery Blvd, Airport Rd, and Hendersonville Rd).  The more interesting aspect though is that there seems to be a Chick Fil A near every Kmart (excluding Patton Ave.)

[ct36]

mediamongrel, on 01 March 2011 - 02:14 PM, said:

For most cities Kmart doesn't even begin to touch Walmart's territory.  Ignoring all of the profit totals (and foot traffic), it is still interesting to note that Asheville still has more Kmarts than Walmarts.  As far as I can tell the Kmarts (Tunnel Rd, Patton Ave, Brevard Rd, and Hendersonville Rd) still outnumber the three Walmarts (Bleachery Blvd, Airport Rd, and Hendersonville Rd).  The more interesting aspect though is that there seems to be a Chick Fil A near every Kmart (excluding Patton Ave.)

It is rather odd that there's that many Kmarts, but I'd say Walmart in Weaverville is closer to downtown than the Walmart on Airport Road.

[mediamongrel]

ct36, on 01 March 2011 - 08:16 PM, said:

It is rather odd that there's that many Kmarts, but I'd say Walmart in Weaverville is closer to downtown than the Walmart on Airport Road.

If you go by mileage you're right.  The Walmart on Airport road is very busy though, while the one in the Skyland area (near Sitel) is usually always slow.  I don't think anyone knows that one is there since it re-opened.

[Lootles]

mediamongrel, on 01 March 2011 - 02:14 PM, said:

For most cities Kmart doesn't even begin to touch Walmart's territory.  Ignoring all of the profit totals (and foot traffic), it is still interesting to note that Asheville still has more Kmarts than Walmarts.  As far as I can tell the Kmarts (Tunnel Rd, Patton Ave, Brevard Rd, and Hendersonville Rd) still outnumber the three Walmarts (Bleachery Blvd, Airport Rd, and Hendersonville Rd).  The more interesting aspect though is that there seems to be a Chick Fil A near every Kmart (excluding Patton Ave.)

All of those Kmarts, save the one on Brevard Road, were here before Asheville ever had a Walmart.  It's not as if they sprung up in competition to Walmart.  Also, the Chick-fil-A's were also added well after the Kmarts were established.

[mediamongrel]

Lootles, on 01 March 2011 - 09:04 PM, said:

All of those Kmarts, save the one on Brevard Road, were here before Asheville ever had a Walmart.  It's not as if they sprung up in competition to Walmart.  Also, the Chick-fil-A's were also added well after the Kmarts were established.

I never said they "sprung up," just pointing out that 4 Kmarts are a lot for any point in time in a city like Asheville.  Most bigger cities like Charlotte or Greensboro only have 1-2 Kmarts, not 4.

[DigitalSky]

I've always found that odd as well.  Columbia and Raleigh have retained most of their original Kmarts as well, whereas cities like Spartanburg have lost ALL of their Kmart stores yet some small towns have been able to hold on to theirs.  Go figure.

Maybe for Asheville's case, the anti-Walmart sentiment from a good bit of the population helps keep the Kmart stores in business.

[Lootles]

mediamongrel, on 01 March 2011 - 11:13 PM, said:

I never said they "sprung up," just pointing out that 4 Kmarts are a lot for any point in time in a city like Asheville.  Most bigger cities like Charlotte or Greensboro only have 1-2 Kmarts, not 4.

I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to imply that you did say that.  What I meant was it's not as if Kmart came along after or alongside new Walmarts.  Given that in the 70's and 80's when pretty much Kmart was the only store of it's type in town, except Roses and the defunct Sky City chain, it's not surprising there are four.  At least not to me.  

Do you know how many Kmarts cities like Charlotte or Greensboro had prior to the growth of the Walmart chain?  It would be interesting to know that.

[mediamongrel]

Lootles, on 02 March 2011 - 07:04 PM, said:

I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to imply that you did say that.  What I meant was it's not as if Kmart came along after or alongside new Walmarts.  Given that in the 70's and 80's when pretty much Kmart was the only store of it's type in town, except Roses and the defunct Sky City chain, it's not surprising there are four.  At least not to me.  

Do you know how many Kmarts cities like Charlotte or Greensboro had prior to the growth of the Walmart chain?  It would be interesting to know that.

I do not know how many Kmarts those cities had, and it would probably be too hard to find out unless you have a lot of time to look through archived photos of those cities and actually count the different locations.  I'm sure Kmart wouldn't want to publicize the locations that have closed over the years either.  Just going by demographics, I'd be willing to bet the Greensboro/Winston-Salem areas had more Kmarts than Charlotte.  Of course, as you mentioned, back in the 70's and 80's, Roses had quite a few stores as well.  A search on the tax info. showed that the average Kmart store (in Western NC district) averaged around $9 million dollars in sales last year (2010).  Thinking in terms of what it must cost to run a store, I am surprised that these stores are still open.

[ct36]

I think it's odd that all of the K-Marts are still open as well. I mean any time I go it's almost empty, and I go like maybe once a year or less haha. But if you include the Weaverville store then technically there's 4 Walmarts in Asheville. Just wish they would expand Target at Southridge and make it a SuperTarget

[mediamongrel]

ct36, on 02 March 2011 - 09:45 PM, said:

I think it's odd that all of the K-Marts are still open as well. I mean any time I go it's almost empty, and I go like maybe once a year or less haha. But if you include the Weaverville store then technically there's 4 Walmarts in Asheville. Just wish they would expand Target at Southridge and make it a SuperTarget

Yes, we were wondering if the Weaverville store should be considered Asheville, rather than the Airport Rd. store which is pretty far away from Asheville center to be honest.  Then again the three Kmarts are within 12 miles of each other if you travel from the Skyland one, up Hendersonville Rd. to 240, stop at the Tunnel Rd. Kmart, then get back on 240 and head to the Patton Ave. store.  The Big K near the Biltmore Mall is kind of lost in the shuffle.

[gso27]

Lootles, on 02 March 2011 - 07:04 PM, said:

I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to imply that you did say that.  What I meant was it's not as if Kmart came along after or alongside new Walmarts.  Given that in the 70's and 80's when pretty much Kmart was the only store of it's type in town, except Roses and the defunct Sky City chain, it's not surprising there are four.  At least not to me.  

Do you know how many Kmarts cities like Charlotte or Greensboro had prior to the growth of the Walmart chain?  It would be interesting to know that.

I grew up in Greensboro during the 70's and 80's and I remember three K mart stores (W. Market Street, Randleman Rd and Carolina Circle Mall). At the time Greensboro's population was between 140 to 150k. There is one K-Mart now and atleast 3 Walmart stores (2 super and one regular).

[archiham04]

K-Marts exist in abundance in Asheville because of the limited availability of developable land.  As an example, look at the WalMart built on Swannanoa River Road.  Can you imagine the cost to clean up a former bleachary?!  They did it because it was one of the only sites available at the size they needed in proximity to other retail.  The Original K-Marts have valuable real estate, and they are staying put.  In Charlotte, Winston, or Raleigh, a larger store site was available just a mile down the road, so the large format WalMarts were able to come in and suck the business away.

This land availability issue has been an issue impeding the growth of Asheville for decades.  If you read the city plans of the 70s and 80s they basically write off manufacturing  and industrial development due to the inability to provide appropriate flat land for their development.

[mediamongrel]

archiham04, on 10 March 2011 - 12:52 PM, said:

K-Marts exist in abundance in Asheville because of the limited availability of developable land.  As an example, look at the WalMart built on Swannanoa River Road.  Can you imagine the cost to clean up a former bleachary?!  They did it because it was one of the only sites available at the size they needed in proximity to other retail.  The Original K-Marts have valuable real estate, and they are staying put.  In Charlotte, Winston, or Raleigh, a larger store site was available just a mile down the road, so the large format WalMarts were able to come in and suck the business away.

This land availability issue has been an issue impeding the growth of Asheville for decades.  If you read the city plans of the 70s and 80s they basically write off manufacturing  and industrial development due to the inability to provide appropriate flat land for their development.

The Biltmore Mall is a perfect spot for a future Wal-Mart Supercenter, considering most of the tenants have left.

[mediamongrel]

2 more tenants recently moved out of the Tunnel Rd. Kmart plaza, Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant and The Hot Dog King.  Apparently the landlord must be raising the rent like crazy this year.