Sears is on Huff Post's list of Top 10 dying brands.......

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/22/brands-disappear-dyingus-2012_n_881911.html#s296020&title=5_Sears

If Sears was even looking at Dayton or Cleveland, which from the article posted, is not. I'd take it in any city - no preference, so I'm curious as to why they are looking at Cincinnati for Ohio when there are plenty of other potential choices.

 

And a corporation need not be all in one building. Before the completion of Queen City Square in Cincinnati, Great American Insurance was spread over four buildings!

 

It appeared from the initial article that Kasich was pushing Cincinnati

 

Thank you...  Yes, once again Cincinnati was the only city in Ohio that was even being considered.  No other cities in Ohio are in contention. 

...And I am attempting to correct the error of their ways. I will even contribute 10 cents to the incentive package to get them to consider Cleveland.  :wave:

Its not their error though.  Cleveland didnt come forward with anything (they were too focused on Casino's), thus Kasich is supporting Cincinnati becuase somebody there had the guts to propose something.  So it was everyone elses shortsightedness and of course lack of leadership why Cleveland isnt on the Ohio list....

That's a pretty bold claim, do you have inside information on this or have I missed an article? It certainly wasn't in the two nearly identically vague "we're looking for x sq ft in states a b c d and e" articles.  Is there any information out there that Sears would even consider an urban facility and not just Hoffman Estates 2.0?

^nothing other than the article posted above profiling Sears as one of the companies evaluating the trend of suburban campuses hampering recruiting efforts. That's nothing definitive, for sure, but it implies that the option of an urban office is at least under consideration.

 

My guess would be if the city of Cleveland, or any city, were to put together a compelling incentive package and present it to Sears, they would likely review it. I would think they might contemplate Columbus, given the retail brands already headquartered there. (although does that help or hinder them? i don't know)

Thank you...  Yes, once again Cincinnati was the only city in Ohio that was even being considered.  No other cities in Ohio are in contention.

 

If Sears wanted a similar 'feel', Cleveland would match that better than Cincy or Columbus, though.

.

Maybe this was one of the reasons why Western Southern is trying to push the Anna Louise Inn out of downtown. Not sure if they could build a tower fast enough, unless they take up space in different building until the main building is built. All speculation at this point.

Maybe this was one of the reasons why Western Southern is trying to push the Anna Louise Inn out of downtown. Not sure if they could build a tower fast enough, unless they take up space in different building until the main building is built. All speculation at this point.

 

Interesting speculation...

Maybe this was one of the reasons why Western Southern is trying to push the Anna Louise Inn out of downtown. Not sure if they could build a tower fast enough, unless they take up space in different building until the main building is built. All speculation at this point.

 

I don't think so. I think W&S wants to build high-end condos in the area to cater to their own executives and executives from other companies they are attracting to that area.

 

My sources tell me that W&S will be tearing down that other dated parking garage at 3rd & Broadway to make room for another office high rise structure. The new structure will not be as tall as QCS II, but it will be a high rise that will house a consolidated headquarters...possible Western & Southern itself.

 

In terms of Sears, Cincinnati is the only likely candidate in Ohio. If it were to happen I would imagine Sears would have its new HQs at 2nd & Walnut Street at The Banks: http://thebankscincy.com/office.aspx.

 

Also, don't forget about 3rd & Vine Street which has long been pegged for a high rise office structure by Cincinnati's old money power brokers.

I don't know what the talk is down in Cincy, but I wonder if Ohio is as far along as Michigan, which has a package in preparation to land Sears in Metro Detroit. It makes sense given that Sears bought Troy Mich-based K-mart a few years ago.

 

http://www.detroityes.com/mb/showthread.php?10457-SE-Michigan-battles-to-lure-Sears-headquarters-5-000-jobs

Huh that article doesnt mention Ohio...  I just hope that North Carolina, Texas or even Tennasee doesnt get it.  Detroit would be nice.

 

Meanwhile Cleveland has several mostly empty buildings along E. 9th Street....  What are they asleep?

^I don't think that any of those vacancies would meet Sears' space needs.  Regardless, I think it is fairly clear that Sears is not looking for a downtown highrise, new or old.  It will end up in a suburban campus.  I also think this is merely a game on Sears' part to get the best deal possible to stay home.

 

Yes, Cleveland is asleep.  :wink:

 

Also, it's really heartening to see Western & Southern's commitment to downtown Cincinnati.

 

If Sears left Illinois, it wouldn't be the first or the last. It may leave if IL doesn't pony up as much as OH or MI or wherever. Or it may not.

^I don't think that any of those vacancies would meet Sears' space needs.  Regardless, I think it is fairly clear that Sears is not looking for a downtown highrise, new or old.  It will end up in a suburban campus.  I also think this is merely a game on Sears' part to get the best deal possible to stay home.

 

 

Chagrin Highlands would have been perfect a few years ago before it became a place for Beachwood to cannibalize business from other parts of Greater Cleveland.

It's weird that Cleveland doesn't appear to be trying to court Sears. There's a lot of prime real estate in Cleveland that would be great for Sears. That is, if they even care about having an HQ that isn't in the suburbs.

Personally, I think some place is going to overextend for Sears (my guess is Illinois).  I don't have much faith in the long term viability of the company, at least in it current capacity and form.

 

This is akin to courting Blockbuster.  I don't think the juice will be worth the squeeze

Is it even worth it, if it brings 500-1000 jobs. If it was 10-20k maybe.

Is it even worth if it it brings 500-1000 jobs.

 

Not necessarily, but it could, in theory, be a huge public relations gain for a city, one that perhaps could inspire other companies to consider moving there.

There's no way a brand that's on life support (Sears/KMart) is building anything new, nor are they moving to a downtown.  Do Cincy's burbs stack up to DC's?  That is the question.

 

They are cheaper than D.C.'s and you have the Macy's and Kroger's infrastructure around.

How did DC's suburbs come into the picture, where was that ever considered?

^I recall reading an article on the topic (I think a Chicago paper) that had DC suburbs in the mix.

^I recall reading an article on the topic (I think a Chicago paper) that had DC suburbs in the mix.

 

God, I couldnt think of a worse fit.... 

Cincinnati has Proctor & Gamble, Macy's, AND Kroger's --but, thanks to Delta, it also has a greatly crippled CVG...  Thank you, Delta!

The bright side is there is a ton of un(der)untilized infrastructure at CVG.  They are doing their best out there by consolidating resources.  At the end of the day, the airport is probably giving off a better impression since old terminals are being retired.  I have to think that CVG is attractive to the next carrier looking to retool operations.

Sears ponders new HQ site

 

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110803/BIZ01/108040326/Sears-ponders-new-HQ-site-?odyssey=nav|head

The competition has been heating up.  Michigan is offering $50 million in incentives and have already selected potential locations for the hq

Since they can't seem to get a new condo built there, perhaps 5th and Race would be a nice spot for a new HQ tower

"A spokeswoman for Sears said any talks about the company's possible move are purely speculative."

 

I say purely extortion. lol

I think the big win for everyone would be Sears moving back downtown in Chicago.

They found the Sears Tower to be highly inefficient though. Interesting takeaway from the latest Enquirer article, that the amount of space they would need is the equivalent of the new Great American Tower. That's a lot of space that downtown does not have - nor anywhere else in the I-275 loop. And for a suburban campus that they currently have, 40 acres at a minimum would be required - pushing a suburban campus into Butler or Warren county.

I don't think it was necessarily a matter of space efficiency, though a bunch of vertically separated floorplates is a reality many businesses accept and deal with when working in an urban environment. 

 

I think it just made sense for them at the time to move to a location where many of their employees were living and because it was cheaper to be out of the city.  Though it still may be cheap, there's been a flurry of articles of how businesses are leaving the suburbs and moving back downtown where they have...and actually say...an intelligent workforce, a creative class, and a more interesting work environment. 

 

Also with nearly every major suburb accessible to transportation, getting downtown is easy as opposed to driving across the metro and dealing with traffic.  People tend to think suburb to downtown traffic is bad, when it's actually suburb to suburb traffic that's awful.  Even worse, there's no suburb to suburb commuter rail.

 

I'd love to see Sears back downtown, but I'm not sure where they'd go.  We really don't have any vacant office space for them unless they build a new tower, and would they be willing to do that?

Report: Ohio out, as Sears narrows HQ search to D.C., Boston

Business Courier - Date: Tuesday, August 9, 2011, 11:40am EDT

 

Sears Holding Corp., which is considering leaving its suburban Chicago headquarters and taking more than 6,000 jobs out of Illinois, has narrowed its list of potential destinations to Washington, D.C., and Boston, Crain's Chicago Business reports.

 

Sears has been rumored for months to be looking for a new headquarters location. Reports had pegged Ohio, North or South Carolina, New Jersey, Texas, Georgia or the Washington, D.C., area, as potential choices for Sears.

 

Cont

I just dont get this...  Why would they narrow it to 2 rather expensive locations?  Both places have a very high cost of living, and have major traffic issues in both the city and the suburbs.    I guess they provided the biggest incentives..?

sears is in my dead pool, anyways

I just cut up my Sears card...  :shoot:

"Sears is the most innovative, successful retailer in the U.S."

Signed,

Woolworth's, Hills, Kmart, Gold Circle, Halle's, Best Products, Uncle Bill's, Lazarus and O'Neil's.

 

They're going to be in DC along a metro rail line as part of a TOD. It's not about cost of living, it's about quality of life.

 

Alternatively if they pick a auto-dependent location in either city, they might as well be dead and gone.

They're going to be in DC along a metro rail line as part of a TOD. It's not about cost of living, it's about quality of life.

 

Alternatively if they pick a auto-dependent location in either city, they might as well be dead and gone.

 

If they ignore any extraneous costs, they will be dead and gone.  I don't know how so many things get spun into being about rail on this message board, but this was one of the bigger reaches I've seen.  Cost of living and quality of life are often very closely-related.

^ I just don't seem them changing. 

 

It's absolutely insane how you can tell a business is fading out by walking into their stores.  Whether it's the unhelpfulness of staff, a dated interior, poorly displayed merchandise. 

 

Refresh yourselves, improve your advertising, improve your image.  Even with all the competition out there, many department stores are doing well just keeping current.

 

Talk about a shell of what they once were spinning off Allstate, Discover, and General Growth.  Additionally alot of the real estate where they once were.  Some of it occupied by someone else or left standing empty.

They're going to be in DC along a metro rail line as part of a TOD. It's not about cost of living, it's about quality of life.

 

Alternatively if they pick a auto-dependent location in either city, they might as well be dead and gone.

 

I cant imagine a company like Sears not being concerned about what it costs to be in an area.  Since I live in the region, even if they were on a metro line the cost of housing anywhere here is much more than any of the places that were being cosidered (which likely means you need to pay your employees more), and at no point have I thought it was a great quality of life here.   

I'm really just trying to figure out why they would choose either of those areas aside from a large tax incentive package. Honestly, everyone thinks a business would relocate somewhere based on cost of living yet, transit availability, quality of life and proximity to employer base have been factors in companies moving back into the city. I can't stress enough it's about employee quality of life. If they choose any area in either of these cities it will be close to where they think their employees will be living, regardless of transit. Although I think proximity to mass transit should be a factor, it probably isn't something Sears is thinking about.

Maybe they are looking for a bailout in the future, if they choose DC. lol

I don't know why people are getting mad about them not choosing Ohio. You can't miss what you never had.

 

I think there is as much chance of them moving to DC or Boston as it is for them to move to Ohio... ZERO. I'm sure the fading of their brand and the costs associated with such a move are not lost on them. All of this is probably just speculation since the only source is a "person." Probably just posturing to get a tax deal in Illinois that they desperately need given the state of the company.

Sears has viable brands that otherwise would have good loyalty - scratch that, wider appeal, if they were managed correctly.  Craftsman, Kenmore.  KMart, OTOH...

 

Sears has great appeal in flyover country with appliances and hardlines.  That should be their focus.  Maybe get back the Martha Stewart line (that KM lost) for the wives.

 

Anywho, their move is irrelevant until they fix these things.

 

Kasich really dropped the ball here.

Kasich really dropped the ball here.

 

Im not so sure.  Typically places around DC dont give huge incentives since they ususally dont have to.  Again, Im guessing by these 2 selections, that area costs and cost of living didnt play into it anyway, and those are really Ohio's strengths. 

 

Kasich has been pretty generous to big companies.  I dont see why this would have been any different.   

I was just joking, similar to how Strickland was blamed for NCR. It's always the governor's fault!