The end of Sears is 'very near'

[Sasquatch]

Well... I admit I'm a retail "nerd".

I spent several years owning and managing some retail businesses. Today I do a lot of consulting to brick & mortar retailers.

Learning so much in this thread. Never knew there was a subculture known as "retail nerd."

 

[jimmy40]

Two things...

Most of the country's shoppers have no access to PC Richard.

Secondly PC Richard doesn't offer the Kenmore brand which if you follow Consumer Reports is consistently ranked at or near the top for just about every category.

Yes, the Internet has affected brick & mortar retail.

But even now, only $1 out of $10 is being spent online, the rest is going to brick & mortar, so it's still relevant.

Sears has always had people fooled with the Kenmore brand, they are appliances made by other brands, GE, Whirlpool, Frigidaire with a little difference (infinite water level switch on a washer, etc) and a Kenmore nameplate.

 

[jimmy40]

Sears owning Kmart is also ridiculous, yea it's called Sears Holdings but that doesn't mean anything. Eddie Lambert (hedge fund owner)took Kmart out of bankruptcy, made some shady deals with Alan Lacy former CEO of Sears, Roebuck and Company and got his foot in the door then took over Sears. Sears, Roebuck and Company ceased to exist and became suck *** Kmart in every way but the name.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Sears has always had people fooled with the Kenmore brand, they are appliances made by other brands, GE, Whirlpool, Frigidaire with a little difference (infinite water level switch on a washer, etc) and a Kenmore nameplate.

I don't know if "fooled" is the right word Jimmy... In "Consumer Reports" for instance, that fact has been stated.

Also it's not unusual for manufacturers to OEM products for companies who slap their name on them. Heck several years ago I had a small Ford station wagon that was made by Mazda. I know of one blue-jean factory in China that makes about 20% of the world's blue-jeans and as you can guess, this encompasses many brands that you are familiar with.

 

[DanteEXT]

Don't shop at Sears hardly ever but this is sad to me from a purely nostalgic sense. This is the time of year I spent hours combing through the Sears (and JCPenney) Christmas catalog circling everything I hoped Santa would bring me.

 

[joseephuss]

Sears used to sell many of their items through a catalog. It was a larger part of their business. It was a very similar business model to selling merchandise via the internet. It is strange that they could not make the transition to a strong on-line presence.

 

[DanteEXT]

Sears used to sell many of their items through a catalog. It was a larger part of their business. It was a very similar business model to selling merchandise via the internet. It is strange that they could not make the transition to a strong on-line presence.

I wonder if maybe they were late to adapt or maybe just too big to move quick enough to keep up.

 

[jimmy40]

I don't know if "fooled" is the right word Jimmy... In "Consumer Reports" for instance, that fact has been stated.

Also it's not unusual for manufacturers to OEM products for companies who slap their name on them. Heck several years ago I had a small Ford station wagon that was made by Mazda. I know of one blue-jean factory in China that makes about 20% of the world's blue-jeans and as you can guess, this encompasses many brands that you are familiar with.

I used to be a service tech for Sears, people are fooled.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I used to be a service tech for Sears, people are fooled.

I don't think it really matters to people... as long as the product fulfills their expectations.

 

[jimmy40]

Sears used to sell many of their items through a catalog. It was a larger part of their business. It was a very similar business model to selling merchandise via the internet. It is strange that they could not make the transition to a strong on-line presence.

my first weekly paycheck job was at a Sears catalog store in my small hometown when I was 16, hated when those damn catalogs came in lol.

 

[jimmy40]

I don't think it really matters to people... as long as the product fulfills their expectations.

lol, when people hate a certain brand and then find out that is actually what they bought when it breaks down was a kinda funny part of that job.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Sears used to sell many of their items through a catalog. It was a larger part of their business. It was a very similar business model to selling merchandise via the internet. It is strange that they could not make the transition to a strong on-line presence.

I think it's because they got caught in the Kmart fiasco.

Whatever vantage point you take with it, getting caught up with a Kmart is like having a casual sit-down restaurant chain take over a fast-food chain and expect it to work.

Sears and Kmart were two totally different animals serving a different customer demographic.

 

[CyberB0b]

Sear's has some inherent strength in the market... appliances, tools.

The entire concept of what works for brick & mortar retail has been turned on its head. Certainly the Internet has caused a great deal of that, but folks shopping patterns have changed too.

We're going back to more specialized brick & mortar retail... More like what we had prior to 1962.

Why that date?

'62 was the year all 3 major mass-merchandisers started: Walmart, Kmart and Target.

Folks had more time to shop and found wondering through a 100,000 square-foot store as being entertainment.

Now with all the time constraints we have, it's looked at as a PITA.

Target seems to do better because it's focusing on more upscale products. While Kmart/Sears and Walmart are left to duke it out with the proliferation of Dollar Generals and similar ilk out there.

Target isn't focusing on more upscale brands. It's the same Chinese crap in fancier packaging. It's laughable that your suggesting that Walmart is fighting over Target's leftovers. It's the opposite.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Target isn't focusing on more upscale brands. It's the same Chinese crap in fancier packaging. It's laughable that your suggesting that Walmart is fighting over Target's leftovers. It's the opposite.

That old reading comprehension thing causing another problem Bob?

Where did I post that?

The Target customer is different than the Walmart/Kmart customer.

It's not so much Walmart vs. Target or visa versa, it's more like the Dollar Generals and Family Dollars of the world that are a thorn in Walmarts' side.

 

[Avery]

Craftsman tools have unfortunately degraded in quality. I have tools 30 years old that work like a charm but recent stuff is no different than the house brands at Lowes and HD.

Sears is a dinosaur; we have a Sears Grand here that never has more than ten cars in the parking lot. Entire aisles are bare inside and help can't be found. Prices are high and selection is limited.

Let Sears die off and invest the real estate in something else.

 

[Longboysfan]

If only Walmart was going with them.

We can only dream...

 

[Longboysfan]

Sears used to sell many of their items through a catalog. It was a larger part of their business. It was a very similar business model to selling merchandise via the internet. It is strange that they could not make the transition to a strong on-line presence.

Yes. They were the first major retailer on catalog sales.

Strange they did not continue it.

But maybe they will pull the stores and just have smaller regional pick up centers.
They are a great place to get major appliances. or maybe were.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Yes. They were the first major retailer on catalog sales.

Strange they did not continue it.

But maybe they will pull the stores and just have smaller regional pick up centers.
They are a great place to get major appliances. or maybe were.

Sears used to sell many of their items through a catalog. It was a larger part of their business. It was a very similar business model to selling merchandise via the internet. It is strange that they could not make the transition to a strong on-line presence.

I'll just stay on the interwebs side of this debate.

1. Having the catalog. They had first mover advantage to be a big player with their online catalog, they waited.
While it would not have lasted forever, with other sites launching similar catalog/deals sites... They would have had a larger/established cyber footprint.

2. I don't think it was "they couldn't"... It was a combination of waiting and quite honestly... Early on there were a lot of crappy web companies that could not do the right thing in launching such a website. Unfortunately, I know this first hand. I was part of these dealings with said crappy web companies. Man... They could overprice the heck out of the "mock up" of what you thought you were getting.... But ultimately could not/did not deliver.

I was part of the dot com bubble then subsequent crash... 1997-2000... Aftermath 2001.....

 

[big dog cowboy]

If only Walmart was going with them.

I love going to Walmart. It makes me realize how normal I really am.

 

[TheDude]

Don't shop at Sears hardly ever but this is sad to me from a purely nostalgic sense. This is the time of year I spent hours combing through the Sears (and JCPenney) Christmas catalog circling everything I hoped Santa would bring me.

I enjoyed the lingerie sections when I was 11-13...ruined them