The buzzards are swarming now for Sears.

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the older you get, the more you see things change

Sears' situation is sad. We shall see what the fates have in store for companies like Kmart, Penney's and Target. When the hardware chain I purchased for was under the Sears umbrella they sent out a corporate memo from Hoffman Estates on the day Montgomery Wards announced they were closing. The memo talked briefly about the many years Sears had shared a good relationship with Wards and that no one should take any satisfaction in their demise. They said they were losing a good friend. There are still thousands of people that rely on Sears for their lively hood, meager as it may be. Wish them well.

 

"Sears is the store, come and explore, give us a ring, Sears has everything"...I was just a kid back then.
 
It's a paradigm shift really. The entire business has changed and continues to change.

What is interesting though, here anyway, is the rebirth of downtown (city centre) shopping as an experience rather than a necessity.

I actually work in and academically study this stuff. It's fascinating to see the rise of the hedonistic shopper in the physical retail space. These are the people who shop for pleasure. They buy things to enjoy them and they enjoy the experience of buying them.

That's the space that stores need to move into because price comparing utilitarian shopping is all moving online. Even supermarkets are experiencing this with moves online.

Mid-priced, mid market supermarkets here are losing market share to discounters, online and what's surprisingly performing well is the high end stores as people go to experience and explore fancier groceries and artisan food.

You've now got to provide shoppers with an experience that they can't buy online. That's where Sears and other mid market stores are failing badly. There nothing exciting about them. They're ok but, why would you go there if you can avoid it with a far more convenient alternative.

I really think if appliance retailers want to keep the doors open, they'll have to be more Apple Store and less Sears in their approach.

I'm afraid we'll see quite a few more mid market giants of the past disappear as they're not able to make the jump as they've just too much invested in the old models of business to change. It's a huge physical and cultural shift and they may not all be able to make it.

Sad to see Sears floundering but, it's inevitable really. It's like a crumbling old titanic being outmanoeuvred by a fleet of speed boats and party ships really.
 
one thing is for sure...

We 'Muricans will keep on shoppin', having been brainwashed since birth to be consumers, a role that has now supplanted that of being actual citizens. We're stuck in an infinite-loop system that depends on constantly increasing production and consumption in a world being trashed by using up non-renewable resources, turning them into cheap junk using cheap fossil fuel energy, then trashing it as soon as possible to buy new, rather than actually repairing things that are no longer intended to be repaired. We, the plebians, like the programmed robots we've become, will keep on mindlessly consuming... that is, until we can't. While the 1% oligarchs will try to keep their system going as long as possible, and at any cost, eventually their Ponzi scheme house-of-cards financial system will collapse of it's own weight, from the countless hedge fund schemes, flim-flam default swaps, banking corruption, crushing student debt, fraudulent book-keeping, and, ultimately, an incredibly massive amount of unpayable world debt, which now greatly exceeds the GDP of all the countries in the world... but, no worries, Sears will have been put out of it's pain by then. Just a small dose of the happy reality to come!
 
I totally agree, Roger. Is there no way to stop this or is it just like a giant out of control machine working up enough inertia until it flies apart? It's like people in the '60's setting around waiting for the bombs to drop.

Come to think of it, who am I kidding. They could still drop. That's a scary thought, isn't it? I do admit I don't think or worry about bombs dropping because there's noting I can do about it, but I try not to buy lots of unnecessary disposable things.

I fix things and try to keep them running as long as I can. Probably because I know there's few good affordable replacements out there. But there lies the problem, doesn't it? If I could I probably would. Then I would be as big of a polluter as everyone else. But maybe not. It seems that more people all the time are realizing our resources are not unlimited and are trying to do something about it. But then again, there lies the problem. Economies are based on expansion, not contraction. Could someone explain to me how a feasible economy could be based on contraction? Would that even work? And lastly there's the problem of standard of living vs. population, the problem no one wants to think about much less address. All the electricity saving light bulbs and water saving gadgets in the world aren't going to fix this. I don't think the earth can take much more. Maybe I'm wrong. She might strike back and fix it herself. It's a harsh way to go about it though. I wish we could fix it first.

Sorry to bring such depressing thoughts to what started out as an innocuous thread about Sears failing.
 
I agree with others that shopping models have changed.  I enjoy shopping online because I don't have to leave my home and mess with getting to stores.  Once I find online merchant brands I like, that have good solid items I keep returning.  One exception is for pants since I am a bit hard to fit and like to try them on before purchasing, but for shirts, shoes, socks, underwear, coats and other things online works for me.  There are several food stores around me that will let you shop online and have the groceries delivered right to your door.  I see several of my neighbors using this form of shopping so I downloaded an app that will let me shop online at close stores and have the food delivered to my door.  I haven't tried it yet but the thought is appealing especially in cold icy weather. 

 

Another thing at the root of cheaply made appliances and items is the fact that in the USA a good part of the economic engine is depending on consumers to spend.  This means appliances are made cheap so people will have to buy something new in a few years.  I don't happen to like this but that's what is going on and there will be no incentives for businesses to change. This practice has run smack into the reality that many higher paying jobs have been lost and many people no longer have the luxury of uncontrolled spending.  It will be interesting to see how the USA economy continues to adjust to this reality but in the meantime people will shop at big box stores that offer cheaper prices, for cheaper made items because they are being forced to do so.

 

This leaves Sears and smaller stores to compete with Walmart, Target,  and other stores that have established large retail networks and can demand large volume  discounts from manufacturers while passing some savings along to consumers.  I was in Walmart two weeks ago and found that every brand of fabric softener  of the same size including Downy was the same price, $3.97.  Meanwhile at my trip to the supermarket I found the same bottle of Downy for sale at $6.57.  For this price difference where do you think people will buy Downy?   I know where I bought it.  Sears no longer has this much influence in the market place thus it's demise. 

 

For the longest time Sears was the only place you could get a good selection and variety of goods, and they were well made;  this is simply no longer the case when you can even buy items from Europe and other places online.  The business model has changed, and will continue to change as the years progress.  

 

 
 
It's hit and miss with Sears, mostly miss. I don't shop at Sears much at all, namely because the last few times I went the stores were DIRTY with dust on the merchandise and shelving. The few store employees I saw were on their cell phones discussing their plans for the evening while I wait. Clothing departments were a mess. They do carry a brand line of pants that holds up well at my job, so I will go after that purchase when I need to replace but that isn't very often. One store in Austin, Texas was so bad I rushed to get out before anyone I might know would see me there, it was that bad, Barton Creek Mall. The store in San Antonio, Rolling Oaks Mall, is better. It's just hit and miss.
 
No sears for me

because they closed them all near me! Oh sure, those little hometown "stores" have opened, but really what can I get there? Nothing I can't get online cheaper...and they usually don't have what I want in stock and has to be ordered anyway. I really miss the old Sears from my childhood...I'd spend hours looking at the Sears catalog.
 
Sears Hiring

Was at the West Town Mall Sears yesterday and there was a large sign over the door saying they were hiring. I can't imagine why. As usual there was hardly a soul in the store. All I can think of is the current employees are running to escape from a sinking ship.

The Oak Ridge Kmart doesn't have much more business than Sears. Has anyone looked at Kmart's prices lately? Wow. That alone explains why no one shops there. Their sale item prices are OK, but everyday prices are way out of line with Wal-Mart's.

They give you these bonus points on your card when you shop at Sears and Kmart. However, have any of you tried to use them? There are so many restrictions on what you can apply points to, they are often virtually worthless. No electronics, no groceries, no jewelry...etc., ad infimum. I had bought a little over $80 worth of items at Kmart the other day and was expecting my $7 worth of points to be applied, but the cashier could only apply 40 cents of the seven dollars worth toward my total purchase because of the restrictions.

When I was in Sears, there was an elderly lady looking at the refrigerators. I saw her talking to the employee questioningly with a slight bit of agitation. I couldn't help overhearing since I was eavesdropping. :) She had an ad in her hand with a sales price for a refrigerator. the salesman would not honor the price as the ad came out that day for the following day. the woman was not trying to give him a hard time, she just didn't understand how an ad could be in print and they wouldn't give her that price.

So he went and got the (I assume) Department Manager. She came lumbering over. Literally, she couldn't have walked much slower if she had wanted to. She got up to the woman and put he hand on her hip and she actually sighed as if it were a great bother to her to have to walk over to this woman, "What....can...I...do.. for...you" in a slightly negative and disgusted tone, with another little huff at the end of her statement.

The woman explained she wanted the refrigerator and then showed the manager the ad. The manager said the ad was for tomorrow and the price was not good until then. No apology, no alternatives. Basically she just told the woman, "tough luck" in so many words. This woman was very elderly and I am sure just the trip to the store was not an easy task for her. So now she had to go back home. And I still don't think she fully understood why an ad in print in the newspaper couldn't be honored.

At the very least the salesman and the manager could have been a little more understanding and said something like, "We are sorry for the misunderstanding and the inconvenience." Instead she got an attitude and a manager that acted like the woman must have interrupted her cell phone call with her boyfriend or something.

It seems like they could have honored the price and done an override at the register. Odds are it wouldn't have been delivered to her until the next day or day after anyway. So much for Sears customer service.

I think both Sears Holding stores, Sears and Kmart are about to go down the tube...and with good reason.
 
I refuse to buy anything from sears again with the exception of detergent. Some of you may know about my recent issues with buying a washer, 1'st one a GE traditional top loader with no locking lid arrived receiving terriable treatment from delivery, did not work, the 2'nd a replacement arrived again receiving bad treatment from delivery, but was clearly used, he!! It had a ring around the tub, I have a feeling the salesman not happy the first was sent back ordered me a reconditioned one thinking I wouldn't know, but someone grabbed one that hadnt yet been reconditioned , otherwise I can't understand how I could have gotton a used washer. The 3' rd one was a kenmore front loader, by now I gave up on the GE..it was also delivered by the same rude men and after 12 hours of trying to get the sheets (1'st load) to spin and numerous calls to sears was told someone would come out on the 19'th, this was last monday, it was the last straw, my laundry was piling up and they wanted me to wait that long..I called the salesman who took all 3 orders and told him to send someone to pick up his lemon, and cancel my order and no thank you I did not want another washer from sears.it would have been to sears advantage to send someone quickly to resolve this issue, but they no longer care about customer satisfaction. At one point while in the store I looked around a bit, and I was surprised at the unkept store and many items with reconditioned tags, I thought reconditioned was sent to sears outlet..I'm finished with sears, no wonder they are sinking. Cheryl
 
With the stories I have just read here---Hope Sears and their rude salespeople go a slow,painful route to the unemployment line!!Not selling the fridge to the elderly woman at the written price in the ad is pretty disgusting.Hope the lady got her icebox somewhere else!!!!
 
I've just started shopping at Sears again. It was THE store we went to as a kid for everything. My parents had a Sears charge so we literally bought everything we could there.

The store here in Concord is pretty quiet most of the time but the employees are very friendly and helpful. They do a big online purchase to store business from what I heard...that could be why you don't see many people in there at a time.
 
I have read the posts in this thread and agree. It's sad to see Sears failing.

I too, loved to read the catalogs as a kid. It kept me entertained for hours and I learned a lot about appliances, vacuums, etc. While the catalog wouldn't work now, "not green" and really who sends catalogs anymore (I don't get Fingerhut and Harriet Carter anymore). But, 1993 was probably too early to end the catalog, considering JcPenney held out until at least the early or mid 2000s.

The Sears here must be a good one as it is always clean and well stocked. I did notice the vacuum accessories section was poorly stocked, but it seems to be back in good order now. One thing that is odd is there seem to be a lot of returned vacuums, as there are always two or three used ones out on clearance.

I do have issues finding an open checkout, it seems only the tool counter and jewelry counter have people at them all the time, the others are often closed. But, you can check out basically anywhere if you can find an employee, as there are smaller checkout stations in most of the departments.

I also agree the mall concept is dead. I think I read it's been almost 10 or more years since any malls have been built. Retail seems to be moving to the strip mall or lifestyle center concept, which is really better in many ways. Easier to expand and less utility bills because there's no indoor section to heat/cool and they are easier to update.

My local mall has somehow held onto all of its original anchors from the early 90s. Belk, Bealls, JCPenney, Sears, and Kmart. The Sears was actually the last anchor to come in 15 years ago, which replaced an appliance and tool store in a strip mall. The mall also has a Kmart which is also clean and well stocked, but a little dated. The mall to me is a bunch of talk and no delivery. They keep saying a "well known, national retailer is coming", but it never happens. They also say they are planning a remodel, but all that happened is they repainted the parking lot signs and finally put the current store logos on them. The inside is unchanged other than painting over some of the dated peach and teal tile on the walls.

The food court is a joke. I go to other malls and most or all of the restaurants are chains. Here, they all left long ago, Sbarros, A&W, Starbucks, all gone. The new restaurants are second rate, private owned places that don't fit in a mall. Radio Shack in the mall closed, most of the smaller stores are just knick-nack junk shops or fashion stores that come and go, though some have stayed for years. There is a "games workshop" of some kind and an appliance parts store, in a mall!!

At least the theater is the better of the two in town and has new reclining seats, etc.

I did notice Kmart has removed the electronics counter, scaled back electronics and put more appliances in that area. Sears recently got rid of their men's suits section, repainted the area and put more casual clothes there. Probably a bad sign, they were not selling.

Do you think Sears could do better if they got in line with stores like HH Gregg and Best Buy and maybe just opened appliance (and maybe tools) stores in the fancier/higher end strip malls/lifestyle centers? Sort of like the hometown stores, but in more affluent/bigger centers and maybe make the stores themselves fancier. (Think warehouse style, wood floors, fancy lighting, etc). They carry a lot of brands, I think it could work, but would probably cost too much at this point.
 
terrible customer treatment

That is terrible the way they treated you with the washer, Cheryl. The salesman probably thought, you being a woman, he could get by with pawning off a used machine to you. Good that you stood up to him ans showed him up!!

I rarely bought Kenmore appliances, but in the early nineties I did have a TOL Kenmore w&d. Under warranty one of the water solenoids went out. I called Sears service and told the woman the fill solenoid went out. She asked me to describe the symptoms. I told her I knew what the problem was-=the solenoid, I said that so she would make sure the repairman had one on his truck when he came out.

But she wouldn't listen to me and got irritated and said she needed to know the symptoms and wanted me to describe what was wrong. So I told her it wouldn't fill with water.

Sure enough the Sears repairman came out and he didn't have a solenoid and had to order one. They treat you like you have no intelligence. They cost themselves an extra trip when if they had made sure a solenoid was on the truck it could have been fixed in one trip. I don't think the woman dispatcher had any knowledge of appliances or how they work.
 
I think Sears has probably started contracting their in home repair services to other companies.

My parents have bought most appliances from them in the last 20 years, most recent was in 2012 and no big problems with any.

I know I bought a used vacuum there a few years back, still got the 1 year warranty, and I had a problem with the power nozzle/wand after a few months. I took it back and they replaced the telescoping wand for free, on a used vacuum that I had bought for 1/4 new price. The wand probably costed nearly what I paid for the vacuum.
 
We've never been a big fan of Sears anyway. I started boycotting them when I was about 19 and the only thing I have ever really bought there was Craftsman Tools and a dishwasher in 1992.

The dishwasher fell apart in three years, the tub finally rusted out and during a wash cycle dumped all the water into the motor. The trim strips on the front door fell off after about two years. We replaced it with our first Maytag DW which is probably still in operation in that house.

This house had Kenmore appliances when we moved in. They were ok for builder grade stuff. But item by item we replaced them all with GE and Maytag appliances. Ah, that feels so much better.

We had amall in Houston (Meyerland Mall) that was pretty much dead and they revitalized it by turning it into a huge strip center. It's very successful now.
The main thing about malls is you must have active anchors to attract the main shopping crowd. Without a major anchor, the mall will die. When JCP pulled out of a lot of towns they were a major anchor and still in some malls where they were located here we are 20 years later and those mall spaces previously occupied by JCP are still vacant.
Homart Development, a division of Sears holdings owns a lot of malls and the land they sit on. Sears Holdings sold that off as part of restructuring in 1995. Was this a sign of times to come?

http://https//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homart_Development_Company
 
A shopping mall near way my died a slow,painful death despite the Sears anchor store.A Belk store used to be there-closed and moved out.Other tenents in the place moved out--the mall was ABANDONED by its owners.They did NO maintenance to the place.Then the mall was demolished-except for the part Sears is in.Now its an open type shopping place--BUT only a few businesses there.A matteress place,cellphone places,organic food store and Dicks Sport Goods-all that is there.LOTS of unused space.The owner wants high rent for the spaces.Doesn't go well in this small town.If the Sears gets closed--guess Dicks will be the "anchor" store.This competes with another mall on the other side of town.Its doing VERY well.Has a Belks-will see how the Penneys place does.And this mall has LOTS of clothing stores.Guess the college kids like them.Its a good mall to go to when you do need clothes-or a back massage!There is a massage place there.
 
Cole, while at the dealers the other day about a speed queen, the owner told us sears has contacted him several times asking if he would service LG&Samsung washers, he said apparently there's no available service for these machines for over 100 miles, the owner told sears no thanks.so I guess sears is contracting in home service to independent stores.
 
If anything I think they are def too big for their britches now. Hence the store closings. Perhaps it's a way for them to lean down. I went to the Salem, NH store with my friend a few months ago to shop for appliances and it was an absolute mob scene. Granted the mall it's in is still very active, but Sears was packed. lol
 
From MSN Money 8-20-15

In earnings news, Sears (SHLD) lost an adjusted 67 cents per share for its latest quarter, smaller than the loss of $2.50 estimated by the lone analyst providing an estimate. Profit margins improved at both the Sears and Kmart chains, but same-store sales declined.
 
Does Sears even have many more assets to sell off? It seems that's what they have been doing for the past 15 years. I think Sears due to downsizing and selling off assets is stuck in a cycle of diminishing returns.

Have the executive bonuses continued and have all the golden parachutes been distributed?
 
My story's the same: A combination of rude/incompetent/non-existent sales people, lack of cashiers, poorly stocked shelves. The only people I know who like Sears are people who go there only for tools.
----------------
"I really think if appliance retailers want to keep the doors open, they'll have to be more Apple Store and less Sears in their approach."

I can only tell you about the metro NYC area, but around here the average Apple store sales person is of a much higher caliber than what you find in most department stores. I can only assume that their total compensation package, including the NON-monetary components, is a good bit better than the competition's.

Somehow, I can't visualize Sears and other department stores doing what they need to to attract and keep customers. I think there's been a change in general customer attitudes as well. I think customers now are more likely to just smile, say, "Thank you for your time", and walk out the door if they're displeased in any way.

Jim
 
That may be correct on contracting the service. I seem to recall seeing A&E Factory Service vans parked outside my local Sears.
 
My nutty sister called tonight to tell us that her Kenmore HE3+ washer finally after 10 years bit the dust. The spider on the drum came apart.

So she goes to Sears and looks at washers/dryers. The sales person points her to a $699.00 LG/Kenmore washer and tells her that's the one to buy. So she does. I asked her why she bought it. "Well, the salesman was nice." Then she was shocked to find out that on the Internet there were a bunch of negative reviews about the machine. But the sameman was nice... I reminded her she is supposed to read the reviews before she buys, not afterwards!
 
It doesn't appear that Sears will "go out of business", but, like most retailing these day, it's changing.

Sears/Kmart is still the 4th largest retailer in the U.S.

With the move to online sales, Sears may well continue to close physical stores, or perhaps move them to smaller square footage, but with on line sales they will still exist.

I just want to find a Sears store, in an odd abandoned mall, where for some reason the mall was boarded up in 1981 and all the merchandise is still there, albeit dusty, and I just happen to come along and discover this time sealed treasure.

Remember the Sears Furniture department, Sears Dental, Sears Vision, AllState agents, Dean-Witter Reynolds, the candy counter, catalog pick up with people waiting in line, the Catalog, the APPLIANCE Dept. from 1981, ohhh-h-h-h, .....who's going with me on my time travels back to a 1981 Sears store?

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In yesterday's business news, it was announced that now that the holiday season is over, the store closings will pick up in pace with 50 stores slated to be closed this year. This is sort of like the sign that reads,

"The beatings will continue until morale improves."

Someone noted here that this is a shrewd move to leave debt collectors with nothing but real estate holding buildings to be demolished.
 
Looking back thru the comments I see I’m not the only one to notice their bad customer service. It’s a result of how Sears treats its employees. They can’t hire or keep good people because no one who has options wants to work there anymore. Sears was nothing like this just 20 years ago.
 

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