"There are bargains galore and they're here for the taking," says store owner Sam Kroungold. Propper Brothers has occupied a building at the corner of Cresson and Levering streets since its founding.
"We are closing because there's a wide variety of opportunities that I have found for the use of this building," Kroungold says. "Times have changed, retail has changed, and there's opportunity out there. And I think it's just time to move on."
Many of the high-end furniture items don't have sale prices on them. Instead, they're marked with a red "X." But Kroungold's goal is to move all the inventory out by mid- to late-January, so they'll consider all serious offers. He thinks a $25,000 wall unit he showed me could sell for about $10,000.
At the opposite end of the retail specturm, the Kmart at 424 West Oregon Avenue in South Philadelphia is also having a store-closing sale.
Store associates say the scheduled closing date here is Janauary 9, 2011, which surprised some shoppers there the day we stopped by.
"My friend, he's with me, he said, 'You know they're closing this store?'" says shopper Dorothy Hendrickson of South Philadelphia. "And I said, 'What?' I'm really shocked. This place been around forever. "
During our visit, we found linens, clothing and toys for 20% off. Cosmetics for 30% off and sterling silver jewelry for 50% off.
We found plenty of shoppers taking advantage of the sale to do some early holiday shopping. Shopper Maggie Stephan, also of South Philadelphia, said, "I got a lot for Christmas. I have twin 5-year-old boys, so I stocked up on some Christmas presents."
For more information about Propper Brothers, click here.
For Kmart's website, click here.
