On another thread a few months ago, it was mentioned that Sears had sold off Craftsman, I think also Die Hard auto parts, and was shopping Kenmore. If those three things go, Sears does not exist.
It’s probably already dead, and now is a corporate organ donor of its brands to other businesses. Too bad; they were perfectly set up to beat Amazon to the internet order and delivery business, but they lacked vision.
Sears became the poster child of horrible customer service in the 1980s and beyond. That is what killed it.
Sears has primarily been a real estate liquidation company for years. They are running out of real estate to sell and started liquidating their brand names.
My first job in high school was selling hardware at the local Sears store. Sad to see it go.
Sears sold its Craftsman brand to Stanley Black & Decker and will also sell through Ace Hardware...............
I bought some Craftsman rubber garden hoses via their web site a couple years ago. The web experience was so-so, but the packaging was just pathetic. It was like Bob in Shipping yelled “Hey, Fred, ya got a box I can use to ship this guy these hoses?” I think they went to the grocery store next door, grabbed a flattened canned foods box and taped it back together. Then “Hey, Fred...got some old newspaper I can use to stuff around these hoses?”
Amazon has done such a masterful job of building brand identity down to every detail down including the cartons and tape.
Good point...I used to love the Sears catalog ordering, especially when we lived in the boonies. With the right kind of forward thinking they could have been first in the mail order business forever. I, too, hate to see a dying Sears.