Monday, August 19, 2019

West Towne Mall Boston Store UPDATE. While management wonders what to do with 140,000 square feet of empty space, they invite young white women to hang out




7/9/2019 update, "No weeds at outside entrance to now shuttered West Towne Mall Boston Store", starts here.

As opposed to the facade of the nearby shuttered Shopko.



5/1/2019 update, " Gone, covered up (Canstruction edition)", starts here.

Photos by Retiring Guy


Canstruction Madison.


9/11/2018 update, "Going.....going.....gone!  (But last I checked, the lights are still on)", starts here.

Photos by Retiring Guy

Retailer Von Maur evaluating soon-to-be-vacant Bon-Ton store sites.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8/23/2018)

Maybe the lights will stay on?  


Sorry, Madison.  The article's focus is on the metro Milwaukee market.



7/31/2018 update, "Going.....going....."

Surprised to find the sale is still in its ":final weeks".

Photos by Retiring Guy

 Second floor home goods section is pretty much cleaned out.



The tall, rectangular sign can be yours for $75.  Make a counteroffer.


Nothing from the West Towne newsroom about the future of this space.

A fair number of shoppers browsing the aisles on a Monday afternoon.



6/14/2018 update, "Boston Store scrubbed from West Towne directory but signs still scream GOING OUT OF BUSINESS", starts here.

Photos by Retiring Guy



Need temporary, short-term employment?


5/16/2018 update, "The final, nothing-held-back, everything-must-go days of the Boston Store", starts here.

Looking across an expansive and mostly empty parking
Photos by Retiring Guy

There are lots of reasons Bon-Ton failed. One of the biggest: It wasn't best at anything.  (York PA Daily Record, 4/20/2018)

The 'going-out-of-business' banner was up on my last visit.

Those signs have a familiar look to them.

More merchandise than I've ever seen in stock at the West Towne store.


4/7/2018 update, "The Bon Ton Stores Inc. announcement creates confusion among headline writers", starts here.


 Headline sources:



4/6/2018 update, "Empty storefronts on either side of West Towne Mall Boston Store interior entrance", starts here.

Photo by Retiring Guy

Bon-Ton warns of mass layoff if company is not sold.  Company plans to conduct bankruptcy auction on April 9.  (Milwaukee Business News, 4/6/2018)
The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. on Friday filed a notice with the state Department of Workforce Development that 2,255 Wisconsin employees could potentially lose their jobs if the struggling retail company does not find a buyer at an auction next week. 
Those employees work at the company’s corporate office in downtown Milwaukee and at stores in Brookfield, Eau Claire, Glendale, Greendale, Janesville, Madison, Marshfield, Milwaukee, Racine and Wauwatosa, according to the notice.

The announcement of the closing of all Teavana stores -- West Towne Mall's store was located at the right -- was made last August.



Original 2/14/2018 post, "What does a Bon Ton bankruptcy filing mean for this West Towne Mall anchor?", starts here.

West parking lot entrance to store

Struggling Bon-Ton Stores Inc. files for bankruptcy protection.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2/5/2018)
In addition to Boston Store and Younkers, Bon-Ton operates under the brand names Bergner's, Bon-Ton, Carson's, Elder-Beerman and Herberger's. 
Bon-Ton has not been profitable since 2010, and is headed for a loss for fiscal 2017 as well. Online merchants such as Amazon and others have cut into business, and fewer consumers are going to shopping malls. 

Close-up

Stores operated by Bon-Ton are anchor tenants in many shopping centers, including about two dozen in Wisconsin. In metro Milwaukee, Bon-Ton has Boston Store locations at Mayfair in Wauwatosa, Brookfield Square, Southridge in Greendale and Grand Avenue in Milwaukee.

Center court mall entrance
Photos and video by Retiring Guy




Bottom line:  No clear answer right now.

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