Posted on 12/09/2016 1:17:01 PM PST by Hojczyk
Sears (SHLD), the 130-year-old American icon, can’t find a way to stop the bleeding.
The floundering retailer has closed hundreds of Sears and Kmart stores, cut costs and borrowed millions of dollars from CEO Eddie Lampert’s hedge fund to keep the business going. Sears invested in its online store and a loyalty program, Shop Your Way, in hopes of regaining its footing, but customers have yet to return in droves.
On Thursday, Sears reported its fifth quarterly loss in a row, and sales continued their downward trend. Sears also revealed that it will accelerate plans to shutter underperforming stores. Jason Hollar, Sears’ chief financial officer, said there’s no guarantee when the company can return to profitability.
Sears, which is based in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, Ill., traces its history back to 1886. Sears, Roebuck & Co. grew to become the largest retailer in America, competing with retail heavyweights of the day like Macy’s (M) and J.C. Penney (JCP).
The retailer was widely known for its catalogs, but that business fell out of favor by the 1990s. With the brick-and-mortar business also struggling, Kmart—controlled by Lampert’s firm, ESL Investments—acquired Sears in a $12 billion merger in 2005. Sears Holdings is now the 20th-largest retailer in the U.S., according to the National Retail Federation Opens a New Window. .
(Excerpt) Read more at foxbusiness.com ...
Zimmerman resurrected it as a web store, amusingly enough, back in 2004. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Merchandise
I noticed yesterday that their store in Macedonia Ohio is closed. Bummer! I counted on them for good tools and all sorts of fasteners.
They gave away their brands. Most Craftsman tools made in China. Kenmore appliances are made overseas. The Sears catalog was the 'original' internet shopping source - order products from your kitchen table. But they didn't move it to the information age.
No reason to go to Sears
Hence all the need for 16mm and 18mm tools. The Brake manufacturers all went with 7 mm hex allen tools to pull caliper slide bolts and the Japs went with 5mm hex allens to do Stabar links. Only a few bucks to get there, but somehow Harbor Freight is not up to speed. Weird.
Just bad business decisions. They should have jumped on the internet bandwagon long ago. Nokia Mobile Phones is a good example. They were stuck on their clunky brick phones, even laughed at the iPhone when it came out. Instead of developing their own version of the iPhone, they decided just to die.
My sentiments exactly.
I haven’t shopped there in over 25 years, since the day they called me THREE TIMES when I was home sick as a dog and had to get up to answer their stupid call asking me if I wanted a credit card.
The first time I politely said no and asked them not to call me back.
Less than an hour later they called back and I was less polite and again told them never to call me.
The third time, I swore at them (not my usual style) and told them I would never set foot in their store again. And I haven’t.
Every now and then, that Harbor Freight - Chinese takeout stuff works.
The only one I read about was Craftsman. Is there a pro line to that?
I bought my appliances at a big Sears store on Cleveland;s West Side. I have a tiny kitchen, so the fridge is in the utility room with the washer and dryer. It’s no further away than it would be in a bigger kitchen, but you can’t see it. All my appliances came from Sears “Scratch and Dent” basement department. Saved tons of moolah, and there’s nothing wrong with them. They are all over 35 years old! Quality!
I use to love looking at the Sears Christmas catalog book every year when I was little boy.
Hope Sears is able to update their stores and turn things around.
Which places them at pretty much the same category as Home Depot's Husky and Lowe's Kobalt brand tools, stores you're more likely to find yourself at when the need to buy a tool surfaces.
FWIW, I was at Sears on Black Friday and they were practically giving Craftsman tool boxes away. I now regret not taking advantage.
I'm saddened to see Sears fail. I worked at Sears Automotive throughout college in the early 90s and I've always had fond memories of the place and people I worked with. I wish they could get it back together. I do enjoy shopping there. They're an American institution.
K-Mart stuff is junk.
Land’s End quality tanked after Sears bought them.
Anyone paying full price for anything from Sears is foolish and its quality is not what it used to be.
Sears symbolizes America when America was great.”
I do believe that America can be great again but it will be significantly different than it was before. For instance, my son still has all his tools from Sears that he and his father used to work on their cars and were always tinkering with them. My grandson has his own car and can change a tire and his oil but new cars aren’t designed to be worked on anywhere but at the dealer’s shop.
I still have my Kenmore sewing machine and used to make a lot of our clothes, but very few people sew anymore and it is not taught in school either.
Seems like the new Sears management team didn’t take the time to find out who there core customers really were and made some suppositions that just weren’t true.
We had Kenmore appliances as far back as I can remember - even in the late 1940’s. Would no longer buy one from them now thought.
Just sad.
The Chinese industry that they draw from used a different system.
Ford (of which I have one I’m working on) went with the German system because of their successful German division. Which is really unfortunate, because all my tools were acquired with British and Japanese vehicles in mind. :P
I’ll take “Yes” for $1000, Alex.
Oh, it’s the Daily Double. (Answer is: Who are JC Penny and Sears?)
yes. there’s plenty of room for that kind of good retailer...once DJT can get some JOBS back for Americans
As are the Kenmore appliances. Our current home came with a number of installed appliances (over-stove microwave, fridge with ice-maker, and dishwasher....all Kenmore). We bought the house new (first owners), and it has now been twenty years, and those appliances are reaching "end of life". The first to go was the microwave, about five years ago. We replaced it with another Kenmore. Then the dishwasher, about two years ago (also replaced with a Kenmore). And then the replaced Kenmore microwave died, after only four years. So I began checking and found the "Made in China" label.
Too much compromise of quality (and the resulting lower prices STILL haven't saved the company). Like Wells-Fargo, Sears has pissed away a 100+ year reputation. They deserve to fail.
Craftsman Industrial. The problem is, you’re paying tool truck (Snap-On, Matco, MAC) prices for tools that if they break you basically have to mail them in to be replaced instead of going to a local store or have the tool truck bring you a new one.
And then the clothing. You could always spot a kid who’s parents bought him clothing at Sears; same way with JCPenny’s.
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