Posted on 12/04/2016 2:30:46 PM PST by ARGLOCKGUY
Things aren't looking good for Sears. The company is shutting down dozens of Kmart stores this month and two of its highest-ranking executives left this week in the midst of the key holiday shopping season. This comes following speculation among Sears and Kmart employees, suppliers, and several banks that the retailer will soon go bankrupt — something Sears has repeatedly dismissed. Jeff Balagna, formerly Sears' executive vice president, left the company Wednesday, "in order to focus on his other business interests and pursue other career opportunities," Sears said in an SEC filing dated November 23.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Sears was a good store. But everything changes, and they are a casualty of the change.
Hi Mears, your post brought back some good memories, then I went and found a site that has all of the old catalogs to the page. Here is 1972 for example: http://192.185.93.157/~wishbook/1972_Sears_Christmas/index.htm
I can’t hyperlink it on the iPad, it’s a pain but the link should be good. Enjoy!
Oh, ok it linked automatically,,, nice.
I remember getting that for Christmas back in the 70s.I had always been into trains up to then.Many good race memories.
“Now that Craftsman tools are made in China, I have no reason to ever shop at Sears again.”
It’s the same at Home Depot. Rigid used to be a solid US brand of tools, now since HD bought the name, Rigid is Chinese as well. The only difference here is that at least for the present, HD has a good business model and the Rigid stuff is mostly decent products even if they are Chinese-made.
“Maytag is owned now by GE which sucks...”
And they private label Kenmore to Sears. If you go look on line for a part for a washer, you will find that it fits a dozen other brands as well.
That’s what happens when you don’t put an undercoat of copper on steel before the chrome. chrome plating is porous.
“Buy a Craftsman Hose. Guaranteed for life.”
I guess we’re going to find out the meaning of the word “life,” soon!
I still shop at my local Kmart. But only for cheap sneakers, underwear, socks, and t-shirts.
Ah, Chinese plating.
Exactly. If you’re going to get literally the exact same item from the same factory in China only with a different label on the casing and the same warranty coverage (sometimes Sears was worse), why would I pay twice the Harbor Freight price just to get it with a Sears label?
Sears hasn’t figured that out yet.
Thanks for that info——the mid 60s to mid 70s were my kids’ “Wish Book” years.
I’ll be sending them the link.
.
Same here. Dad bought Kenmore washers, TVs, tools, tires, DieHard batteries, water heaters. I did the same when I was setting up my first house because they were the only retailer around here with those products and I was following Dad.
Other brands began going after the consumer market with better products (Makita, Milwaukee, DeWalt) and more retail outlets opened up (tires, appliances, electronics). Then came the web. Sears was just flummoxed on how to keep up. Two Sears stores around here are gone (Mountain View & Cupertino, CA).
“Sears was just flummoxed on how to keep up.”
Exactly. Poor, POOR Leadership!
“they could not get their soft goods to any sort of consistency and reliability. “
Sears Toughskins sold like hotcakes in my neighborhood in the 60s and 70s..
All the kids wore them-—they had a reinforced knee.
.
LOL. My 40 year old sockets are like new, but the 3/8 ratchet slips. Unfortunately the cost of gas to get to their nearest retail outlet is probably more than just buying another brand ratchet nearby. Our local Ace retailer is run by a SUPER guy who always thanks everybody for their business and really knows his stuff. His store is an old-school hardware store, filled to the rafters with anything you might want. Far better selection than any big-box store in 1/20 of the square footage.
If I were you, I'd plant a bigger corn field this coming spring.
There’s a reason Amazon was conceived by a brand new startup company and not an existing retailer. Same reason no airlines were created by railroad companies.
Should Sears fold - DieHards (with the exception of the Platinum) are made by Johnson Controls and they’re pretty much the same for all the people they make them for.
I used to take a peek at THOSE pages, for sure. But as a kid back in the 40s, I also went to the tools and hardware pages, where they had plain, and fancy harness for farm horses, with illustrations of the big draft horses wearing it.
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