I haven't been in a big Sears in years, but visit our local Sears Outlet Store pretty often. Most of my home's appliances came from there. They sell no "apparel" there--just tools, yard equipment, and home appliances.
Last Kmart I was in (2 years ago) there wasn't enough merchandise in there to make it worthwhile, and the place was filthy. You could tell they had gotten rid of a lot of the merchandise and it's shelving because the width of the aisles was big enough for me to drive a truck down.
The merger was supposed to benefit both companies, but that did not happen. Neither K-Mart nor Sears adapted to changes in the retail landscape fast enough and what they did try was ineffective.....too little, too late. Add that to a complete and total mismanagement of both companies under "Sears Holdings" and neither really had a chance.
That said, had K-Mart not purchased Sears back in 2004 they would have gone bankrupt a decade ago.....with K-Mart not far behind.
"Lampert has many levers to pull to keep the retailer alive, including more cash infusions from his hedge fund as well as the sale of assets like real estate and it's appliance and tool brands including Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard."
Those are the only things keeping both stores alive. If they sell those, it's only to finance golden parachutes for executives before filing Chapter 7.
They built a Meijer Superstore near our KMart and Tom's Food Market (Spartan store) back home, and both older stores have been nearly abandoned since, except for some loyal customers. My siblings and I worked our first jobs at those stores, kind of sad to see them go, but it's imminent.
We have a KMart in town. Could be the most worthless department store in the country. They have crappy inventory and most of the staff must have gotten an F in customer service. I'm surprised every time KMart closes more stores and this one isn't on the list. There's a Super Walmart about 20 miles east and the town 20 miles south has all manner of (much) better department stores.
I think the only time I've been in a Sears in the last 10 years or so was just a walk through to get into the mall. I've purchased a part here and there on line through their parts center but that's it. K-Mart, they have one in Layton probably about 15ish miles from me and I rarely go there. I think the only thing we've gone there to get is a heating pad because they have the model in the store that doesn't auto off after an hour or 2. Other than that I go there to look through their Hotwheels stock once or twice a year. Generally my impression is the same, store is dirty overall and not stocked well. Sad though really because when I was a kid I used to love going to K-Mart with my parents. Hear "Blue Light Special" over the intercom and go looking for the flashing blue light cart in the store. Heck, I bought my first pocketknife from K-Mart.
Thi is not a sear and K mart problem.. This is a problem that every brick and mortar store is going , like a run away train.. Sadly those that shop online, don't understand what they are doing, sure they save a buck, short term but it will cost them dearly long term.. with no jobs, high crime and local and state taxes going up and new taxes added to make up for the short fall from the death of all the brick and mortar stores.. Your schools, fire and police are funded with the taxes that local stores pay.. you are taking that, long term you WILL not like the effect of this cause.. As you will loose your home when the taxes on it go up 10x or more.. and you can't afford them.. and can't drive as the fees to do so are so high. The tax man will get his money, and he will go after the things people have to have.. places that food isn't taxed will start.. Now, during this holiday season, enjoy your online shopping, won't you.. Blind leading the blind ,no one see's the seventh sign , all left behind
[This message has been edited by E.Furgal (edited 12-07-2016).]
Guess you all missed news Kmart/Sears sell their bands to pretty much everyone that will pay. Like Ace Hardware now carries Craftsman Tools.
That should give many people warning that is in big trouble.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
Guess you all missed news Kmart/Sears sell their bands to pretty much everyone that will pay. Like Ace Hardware now carries Craftsman Tools.
That should give many people warning that is in big trouble.
I was in Ace Hardware a few days ago, and was surprised to see the Craftsman Tools display.
I told the clerk that I thought it was great. "I'll never have to go to the mall, again! Ever!"
Yeah. Sounds like Sears is pretty much boned. K-Mart? Who? Not in many years. I figured that Sears was toast when they quit publishing their catalogs. They've actually hung out a lot longer than I expected.
[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 12-08-2016).]
We have a Hometown Sears... perfect for what we need... appliances, tools, outdoor equipment, etc... no "soft side" projects (if anyone remembers their commercials).
Local Kmart is finally closing.... whew. Meijers is opening new store. Nice!
Originally posted by maryjane: I haven't been in a big Sears in years, but visit our local Sears Outlet Store pretty often.
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Originally posted by Khw: I think the only time I've been in a Sears in the last 10 years or so was just a walk through to get into the mall.
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Originally posted by E.Furgal: Sadly those that shop online, don't understand what they are doing, sure they save a buck, short term but it will cost them dearly long term.
A short while back I was in San Antonio. I had something Craftsman that I wanted to warranty and I went to a big mall Sears. Their auto center was open but the store did not open till 10:00AM I think it was. Most malls open at 9:00AM, and at this mall, the stores were open at nine.
E.Furgal, one can shop online, at any hour of the night, in their underware, (or not). Brick and motar stores will never go away. They need to provide good customer service, customer convenience, and other customer "wants", including competitive pricing. I prefer brick and motar stores. I like to hold what I want to buy, see it, feel it, try it.
Thi is not a sear and K mart problem.. This is a problem that every brick and mortar store is going , like a run away train..
Yes it was/is a problem with these companies.
We have a walmart... that is fairly new. We have a new Meijers (Like Walmart, but around Great Lakes) coming. The old Kmart is closing and has been on life support for years. No selection, higher prices, gimmicky "points", poor service, run down stores.... and THIS is why people shop online. I shop online to get what is not available locally. I also shop online for convenience. I can drive down to a store, ask them for a part, they say they can order it with their markup and I have to pay shipping. Anyone that does that in today's world has more money than brains. I am all for supporting local businesses, but they have become the middleman... no inventory, no selection..... no thanks.
We have a KMart in town. Could be the most worthless department store in the country. They have crappy inventory and most of the staff must have gotten an F in customer service. I'm surprised every time KMart closes more stores and this one isn't on the list. There's a Super Walmart about 20 miles east and the town 20 miles south has all manner of (much) better department stores.
I see about the same thing at my local KMart. Shelves half stocked, no employees on the floor and usually only 1 cashier. They may open another if the line gets to 25.
Oh, one thing we laughed about here is that our local Kmart (which is closing) used to be very warm, year around. An employee said they kept it warm for the shoppers... "old people".
This may be a local thing, as kmart has been here a while, but I thought that was about right, when you walked into the store.
I'll say it is a shame. I like my local Kmart..it is nicer than the local WalMart. There is a really nice Kmart in the next town ver, but go in the other direction there is a Kmart stuck in the 1970's.
As of now I am waiting for Sears to deliver a new washing machine in the next week or so.
Sears just did not adapt fast enough...and they killed their iconic catalog. There was/would be potential to vlae rebrand the Sears Catalogue as a cell phone app with staple items which could always be availabe at the local store, a seasonable availability list, and a amazon style delivery for other non core items. As of now the stores are dead men standing. The cost to service the debt load and the stranded costs in with all the exas retail overhead will kill the company.
I shop online to get what is not available locally. I also shop online for convenience. I can drive down to a store, ask them for a part, they say they can order it with their markup and I have to pay shipping. Anyone that does that in today's world has more money than brains. I am all for supporting local businesses, but they have become the middleman... no inventory, no selection..... no thanks.
This exactly.
In regard to Sears/Kmart, the Kmart here closed their doors a couple of years ago. Still have the huge building and empty, crumbling parking lot. Sears closed their large store and opened one of the small "home town" versions instead.
------------------ Past: 1988 base coupe sold 1984 base coupe rust Present: 1986 SE 2m6
When I was young, Sears was where America shopped. They had a huge variety of reasonably priced, quality products and every young kid looked forward to the Christmas catalog. They even sold motorcycles and guitars when I was a kid.
The only reason I have had to go there in many years is tools. I will miss that.
[This message has been edited by williegoat (edited 12-08-2016).]
It's not just Sears and K-mart. I can't tell you how many times I've wasted hours going from one store to another looking for a product and then ended up buying online. A vacumn breaker for instance. I installed one in every solar system we sold back in the eighties. I tried Home Depot, Lowes and every store in town before finally ordering on line. I often find that the locals gouge me on prices too. I'll still shop locally but "the times they are a changing"
Originally posted by dratts: It's not just Sears and K-mart. I can't tell you how many times I've wasted hours going from one store to another looking for a product and then ended up buying online. A vacumn breaker for instance. I tried Home Depot, Lowes and every store in town before finally ordering on line.
It's not just Sears and K-mart. I can't tell you how many times I've wasted hours going from one store to another looking for a product and then ended up buying online. A vacumn breaker for instance. I installed one in every solar system we sold back in the eighties. I tried Home Depot, Lowes and every store in town before finally ordering on line. I often find that the locals gouge me on prices too. I'll still shop locally but "the times they are a changing"
You went to a box store and not a local electrical supply store.. ???? You installed one in every solar system you put in in the 80's// How many homes around you have solar.. not many here, I'd not expect the lowes to carry solar parts..
The jaw-dropper to me with Sears is that, 30+ years ago, Sears was the Amazon. They should have easily, and with dominance, converted a mail order catalog business to an internet/online business.
Their stores have gotten really bad. I'm sure I dropped $1000+ during the last 5 Christmas seasons in clothing and household goods. This year, We've spent $35 so far and probably not much more. There just aren't good deals to drive me into the store anymore.
and 75% of people go into the store look at the item, and then buy it off amazon/etc.. only "window" shopping at the local store..
Some people do the opposite: Look at what selection is available online, and then go to the store and buy it so we can have it immediately. But sometimes even that backfires when the particular item is out of stock at the store and has to come from another location or even from a warehouse.
Its possible to get lucky sometimes. A couple years ago, I wanted some waterproof insulated winter boots with liners, the kind you'd use ice fishing. Real warm ones. Cabela's had some real nice (expensive) ones online as well as a cheaper pair that wasn't as nice. I decided to get the cheaper pair since I didn't want to spend as much as the more-expensive ones cost. Since I wanted them right away, I drove up to the Cabela's store and was surprised to find the expensive pair was actually $20 cheaper in-store, and on top of that there was a sale going on so I got them for about $40 less than what they would have cost had I ordered online and $10 less than the cheaper pair I was considering originally.
When I was young, Sears was where America shopped. They had a huge variety of reasonably priced, quality products and every young kid looked forward to the Christmas catalog. They even sold motorcycles and guitars when I was a kid.
The only reason I have had to go there in many years is tools. I will miss that.
I remember that catalog, was in every outhouse. always last years catalog. I remember them being called the
You went to a box store and not a local electrical supply store.. ???? You installed one in every solar system you put in in the 80's// How many homes around you have solar.. not many here, I'd not expect the lowes to carry solar parts..
A vacuum breaker is a plumbing part. Why would I go to an electrical store for one?
Of course that's plumbing. Why would a vacuum breaker be needed on a solar system ?
I took a look at your reference. Not available at the Spokane store. They are required in order to drain the system. I think you missed the point of my post.
Originally posted by dratts: I remember those being used in the house away from the house. I didn't care for wiping with that slick paper.
The Sears Christmas Wish Book, A Holiday Tradition
The very first Sears Wish Book, known as the Sears Christmas Book catalog, came out in 1933. Featured items in this first catalog included the “Miss Pigtails” doll, an electric (battery powered) toy automobile, a Mickey Mouse watch, fruitcakes, Lionel electric trains, a five pound box of chocolates, and live singing canaries.
In 1933, Sears was already a familiar part of America’s Christmas tradition. The 1896 Sears general catalog included wax candles for Christmas trees. The 1898 Sears catalog added Christmas cards, and the first Christmas tree ornaments appeared in 1900. Sears began selling Christmas stockings and artificial Christmas trees in 1910. Electric Christmas tree lights made their debut in the catalog two years later.
The 1933 Christmas Book catalog started a tradition that made the Sears Wish Book an American icon. The Sears catalog and the name Wish Book were closely linked over the years. Prior to 1933, Sears customers often affectionately referred to the large, semi-annual, general catalogs Sears issued as the “Wish Book” or “Book of Wishes.” After 1933, the Wish Book name became synonymous with the annual Christmas Book catalog. In 1968, Sears made it official by renaming the Christmas Book catalog The Wish Book.
Originally posted by Hank is Here: As of now I am waiting for Sears to deliver a new washing machine in the next week or so.
Sears just did not adapt fast enough...and they killed their iconic catalog. There was/would be potential to vlae rebrand the Sears Catalogue as a cell phone app with staple items which could always be availabe at the local store, a seasonable availability list, and a amazon style delivery for other non core items. As of now the stores are dead men standing. The cost to service the debt load and the stranded costs in with all the exas retail overhead will kill the company.
"deliver a new _____ in the next week or so" is a big reason many people Do Not buy _____ at Sears. Worse Sears markup is a joke. I can go to Lowes and others the ____ are deliver next day or 2 and prices are other lower.
Sears and J. C. Penney catalogs were dying long before WWW. Price just to Print Big Books and Wish Books and Ship to the stores and catalog outlets didn't justify dismal sales numbers. (They stopped Mailing them in decades before.) Remember Montgomery Ward? Was Dying in 70's and started closing many stores, Finally went bankrupt in 97 and now is just a name own by The Swiss Colony.
I dealt with Sears on the commercial side with appliances for over a decade. I'd like to say "worked with", but they don't work with you. They were the only player able to deliver nationwide from a single source. You are at their mercy and they simply don't care. Item not in stock? We don't know when it will come in. Need special delivery instructions? They will be ignored. And their "Contractor" pricing? Often higher than they were selling for in Sears retail stores or on Sears.com. Bring this up and the uncaring customer service rep gives you the equivalent of a verbal shrug. Delivery set up for today but they didn't make it? You have to call and reschedule it, and they won't be back in the area until a week from today. Tough luck. Oh, and if you take it out of the box and decide it wasn't what you wanted? 50% restocking fee. Plus delivery both ways. They didn't take away the old one like they were supposed to? Tough luck. We're not coming back, and we're probably not refunding the pickup fee, either. God forbid you need anything serviced under warranty - Oh, everything's melting? We'll be there.... six weeks from next Tuesday. Nope, can't do better. Made us look terrible.
I had a refrigerator I had ordered for 10 years for new build-outs get discontinued. I asked my sales rep for a similar replacement. He sent me a link to the online catalog and told me to pick something. I gave this guy 10 grand a month in sales.
I haven't been to a Sears store in years. An ACE store opened up nearby a couple of years ago and I stopped in a month or so ago at their going out of business sale and picked up a Craftsman socket. It could not compete with the Home Depot or Lowes within a mile or so.
My long winded Sears story: Like a lot of you I grew with the Sears Wish book at Christmas. Growing up in small towns it truly was your only access to a lot things. I remember wanting all the original GI Joe stuff with the James Bond Thunderball tie-in merchandise. I remember my first pup tent for backyard camping and buying hip teen clothes. In the fall of 1979 while finishing up at the University of Minnesota, I went to work for Sears Catalog Distribution Center in Minneapolis (CMDC) as Heavy Merchandise Mover. This was a temporary part time seasonal position. January 1980, Sears asked me to stay on temporally full-time for special projects and they would allow me to takeoff for job interviewing as needed. At this time Sears was expanding their CMDC and dressing up the existing facilities. I was a part of four man painting crew. Three months later I started my first full time career job as a sales trainee for a manufacturing company (automotive equipment). Again Sears asked me to stay on for a special project. I supervised a four man crew epoxying stairwells steps in the new building and refurbishing the older 13-story building. This was five hours a week on Saturday mornings when Catalog wasn’t working. In the fall I went back to Heavy Merchandise Mover loading trucks with catalog orders in the evenings for three or four nights a week after my full time job was done. I got well paid to workout plus a generous employee discount on purchases. In June 1981, I was married and we moved into a brand new home shortly afterwards. (Anybody remember FHA rates of 14.5 %?) Half our income was going towards our house payment. Between my two jobs I was working fifty to fifty-five hours a week. My new wife was also busy establishing her career as an accountant. Working at Sears CMDC provided extra money and pretty much everything for the new home. My wife and I used to joke about being a commercial for having an all Sears home. Working at Sears also allowed us to purchase our first Fiero in January 1983 and doing some traveling. You can do this when there is are kids to deal with. Due to a downturn in the economy I was finally laid off in 1982. In May 1983, I started working retail at the local mall Sears. I was a commission sales person in Electronics and Furniture for fifteen to twenty-five hours a week. At the time, we were located in a new growing and somewhat effluent suburb, so we had the highest sales for our department(s) despite being the smallest of seven stores in the Twin Cities metro area. I was making more money part-time per hour than my fulltime job. This was a good thing because the U.S economy was struggling and I got laid off from my full-time job in spring of 1984 due to downsizing and restructuring. The Sears pay check came in mighty handy during my five month layoff. In September of 1984 got a sales management job for a German textile manufacturing firm covering seven states in the southeast US. I eventually left my Sears job in early 1986 as my travel schedule for the full time sales job became too difficult to manage. During the 80’s Sears was king. They taught me a lot about selling and customer service. They had mail-order associate training programs with phonograph records. The sign “Satisfaction Guaranteed” over the doors was a commitment ingrained in all employees from the Store Manager to the lowest paid part-time sales clerk. And this policy was followed sometimes to the point of being ridiculous to keep a customer happy. Sears wanted to be your one-stop shop for everything. Does anybody remember Sears owning All-State Insurance and Merrill Lynch Investments and having locations in the stores? I made a lot of good friends and socialized with co-workers and department managers. I kept in contact with them after I left. I loved Sears. We were family.
I am not sure when the beginning of the end for Sears started but there were several personal experiences that killed my families love and devotion to them. The first one was my wife being escorted out of the store because she wanted to return a $3.00 clearance item and she had her receipt. There was no nasty argument and the sales clerk just called the manager and she was asked to leave. Back in the day it would have been written off as customer “goodwill”. It was at this point I noticed the sign “Satisfaction Guaranteed” over the doors was no longer there. I lost further faith in Sears when we attempted to buy all new appliances back in 2004 prior to my daughter’s graduation. The value was well over $7,000 dollars and they couldn’t deliver, for free, to my schedule and take the old appliances at the same time. Installation of the new dishwasher also required a separate time. The “Kenmore” brand was more expensive than the actual name brand who manufactured the appliances for Sears. The sale went to another local company that did everything at once at a better price with free delivery. I used Sear Optical for over twenty-five years because the independent doctor was so good. However the department manager tried to overcharge me $400 on glasses and contacts the last time I got an exam. The final straw for me was Sears’s poor treatment of their long time, full time career employees. I had several Division Manager Friends that got let go just prior to meeting the thirty year pension requirement. One had even been interviewing for other manager positions within Sears organization but he came to find out later he had been blackballed from being hired to those other positions. For the last ten years or so my local mall store had been taken over by employees that were recent immigrants. Their poor English made it difficult to communicate with and quite frankly they stunk. Their head coverings made me feel somewhat un-comfortable and they came across as somewhat arrogant. The formerly wide aisles became cramped with junk merchandise that made it hard to walk down or though so I wouldn’t even go through the store to get to other stores within the Mall. The end of my Sears Store came last month. It closed and the property I believe sold for over twenty million dollars. Their closeout stuff was regular sale prices. They were even selling broken and used crap (lawn mowers) at ridiculous final prices. No returns or warranties. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for the old Sears. It is a shame what the brand has become and I will not shed a tear at it final demise.
I have both stores and have not been to them for 10+ years and I'm not a few that stop buying anything they sell. Many had problems getting anything Kenmore delivered and stop all business dealing w/ them. People need a refrigerator, promise next day or two and then Sears delay them for days or weeks is standard operation to them.
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Originally posted by E.Furgal: Ya, because expanding locations of sale for your product is bad..
Nope. Is a sign to many that Kmart/Sears is getting ready to close Most stores or planing to go Bankrupt and want Every Penny they can milk the brands before doing so. That Lifetime Warranty won't mean much when they do.
Many seems just not to get the fact that K-mart Bought Sears Because they wanted Craftsman tools and others to sell thru K-mart stores. Sears had little choice... get bought anyone or gone bankrupt and fast. K-mart stores very quickly got Craftsman but Big problem is didn't help much and many people saw this a cheapening Craftsman brand.
Many people knew then Sear already had Many Craftsman tools made in China etc can be cheaper yet. Poof? Just find a Red handle Craftsman tool sold in the 90's and try getting replacement... Lifetime warranty Does Not Apply to them. Most people doing real work won't touch many Craftsman screwdrivers and others for decades because wear out every month or faster. Warranty doesn't matter because down time for worn out tools and to replace cost more money. Many Craftsman are rebrand tools made by others, often in China, Mexico, etc. Some are outright stolen tool designs, Example: NYTimes Stuff made in the US can still go to China too.
Sears sold Die Hard batteries thru NTB before Sears sold NTB. (NTB even took Sears cards for payment.) DH is just another brand made by Jonson Controls... Same Co makes Walmart and many others. NTB dropped Die Hard now sell Interstate, another Johnson Control's brand. Most Kenmore is just rebadged Whirlpool etc w/ big markup.
[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 12-11-2016).]
Sears may go into the history books.. I doubt it.. but say they do. Craftsman will still be a tool brand.. As far as craftsman tools getting cheap, they had no choice.. as THE American shopper will go buy the cheapest tool they can at harbor freight .. People used to buy tools to have them a lifetime.. not anymore..
Nothing more iconic than reading about Kmart / Sears going out of business... on AOL.com... a company who themselves will probably disappear in 10 years.
I'm sad for Sears, not so much Kmart. Sears helped build America... you could buy inexpensive homes from the Seats catalogs back in the 20s, 30s, etc.
No lost love for Kmart, but I hope Sears is able to pull through and change... don't think it's going to happen though.
Originally posted by E.Furgal: Sears may go into the history books.. I doubt it.. but say they do. Craftsman will still be a tool brand.. As far as craftsman tools getting cheap, they had no choice.. as THE American shopper will go buy the cheapest tool they can at harbor freight .. People used to buy tools to have them a lifetime.. not anymore..
Problem is Most people see Craftsman w/ Lifetime Warranty = Good or Best tools. Most of them are not and never were. Lifetime Warranty on tools won't last is design to drive traffic to the stores. Sears knew that People go to store, return worn/broken tool and Most buy other thing while there. Sears made crap Blue/Black Tipped Handle screwdrivers in 60's 70's and 80's long before Walmart HF etc. (blue Philip/slot, black Torq and some others.) Common to see them in pack @ $1 to $1.50 per driver. Most blue and black tipped I have are worn and need replacement but I'm in no hurry to go to the store. Many have been waiting for 15+ years.
You need Craftsman Professional @ $6 to $15 per driver to get ones that won't wear out fast. Only offer this for ~15 driver vs >50 blue/black tipped. I have one that's 25+ years old and still look fairly new.
Craftsman wrenches may take the load and abuse but many have loose tolerances that can round a head/nut fast. Look at Craftsman Pro, Snap-on, etc and Craftsman and is a night and day of difference.
