Target and now Sam’s Club shutting doors
By Laura Katauskas
Staff Reporter
Romeoville will see the loss of two big box retailers with announcements of their closings in as little as two months of each other, though officials say the village can weather the hit.
It was a shock to the community, taking not only Romeoville, but locations nationwide by surprise when Wal-Mart, parent company of Sam’s Club issued a release Jan. 11 that it was closing its doors at 63 locations, including 460 S. Weber Road, as well as stores in Naperville, Batavia, Matteson and Moline.
“This came as a surprise to us as Sam’s has demonstrated a strong sales increase each year since opening,” said Steve Gulden, Romeoville village manager.
Adding insult to injury, this latest news falls on the heels of Target’s announced closing of its store at Airport and Weber roads. Sam’s Club is slated to officially close Jan. 26 and Target will shut its doors Feb. 3.
Romeoville Mayor John Noak contends that it appears the face of big box retailers is evolving and changing the landscape for purely strategic reasons, noting that the village has tracked sales for the stores along the Weber Road corridor that have seen a yearly sales increase since opened.
“We’ve done our reports and we find no rhyme or reason indicative of these decisions; it is clearly a strategic decision on their part to be more competitive and has nothing to do with the profitability and location here,” said Noak.
Though just as frustrated at the closings as its residents, Noak said the village is financially sound enough to take the loss in sales, estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands range, though unclear as to what the final impact will be until mid-year. However, it is believed that if the new Toyota dealership, set to open later this year, performs as it should, those sales would more than make up for the loss. In addition, he noted that some of those sales will be reabsorbed into other stores like Wal-Mart, Aldi, Jewel, and Blain’s Farm and Fleet.
“Weber Road is not overbuilt, we are just not use to such turnover. But let’s be honest, how many stores have we seen continually change in other communities,” said Noak. “Big box is shrinking and we are beginning to see smaller and service-based stores and more entertainment.”
Looming large is the thought of standing vacant buildings and a time frame for what will come to replace the retailers.
Admittedly not what residents want to hear, Noak said it is a game of wait and see, as these are both private companies who are responsible for selling the buildings and the properties aren’t listed for sale yet.
He did say these two stores do not compare to the situation with the former Dominick’s store that has been sitting vacant for years due to the fact that it is a leased building owned by Albertsons who hasn’t wanted to put in a tenant.
“This is a different situation, these are private companies that own the buildings outright and can sell it to whomever they want,” said Noak. “The village has been in communication since day one and our role is to make sure we can do anything needed to market and incentivize the locations. We can work to make this for re-use, there is a lot to offer in this corridor. ”
Noak points to the fact that there is still significant activity on the corridor with the coming of a new gas station, the Toyota dealership, Dog Haus, the recent Aldi expansion and expected announcements for smaller outlots along Weber Road.
What could possibly replace the two locations is up for speculation, but the large size, at more than 130,000 square feet, has to be considered. Though Sam’s Club said some of its locations would be turned into e-commerce sites, the likelihood of that happening in Romeoville is slim considering a Wal-Mart SuperCenter sits next door.
Odds are the buildings would most likely be subdivided, suggested Noak. To put things in perspective, grocery stores such as Jewel, is 60,000 square feet in comparison. And for residents, wishing for a Mariano’s or Trader Joes—it’s not likely to happen as Mariano’s announced it is no longer opening any more stores and size rules out Trader Joe’s, whose average size is about 15,000 square feet.
However, the bottom line, says Noak, is that “we have a strong location and there is no doubt that an owner or developer will take over these properties.”
Sam’s Club and Target will be working with their employees on relocation. In addition, any displaced employees can contact the Workforce Development Services of Will County at 815-727-4444 for employment assistance.