Sears to close last store in Chicago [its home market]

Chicago Tribune ^ | 4/12/18 | Chicago Tribune staff

[foreverfree]

Sears, based in Chicago for more than a century and now facing mounting troubles, is closing its last store in the city.

Employees at the store at Six Corners, on the edge of the Portage Park neighborhood, were told of the closure Thursday morning, spokesman Howard Riefs said in an email.

[neverevergiveup]

“If Sears had played its cards right, they could have been a real competitor to Amazon.”

Yes. I wonder how much money their upper management and CEO pulled in over that period of stupidity.

[neverevergiveup]

I would seriously bet that a group of FReepers at a bar could have come up with better ideas to save Sears, in one evening, than their upper management did over decades.

[Flash Bazbeaux]

I went to the Sears Tower right after it became the Willis Tower, to visit a business that had just moved there. They were rather miffed that the name had changed right after they signed their lease.

[TheNext]

All the brick stores have failed because they are technically and scientifically illiterate.

Big Bad Corporations are totally clueless.

Snooze you lose. Manage the decline.

[TaMoDee]

Craftsmen tools are for sale in advs all over the net.
I have bought 100’s of $’s in the past three weeks.
OUTSTANDING bargains!!

[AmericanMermaid]

Same here! My first job was at Sears. They hired me at 16 in 1976 to wrap gifts and give out gift boxes at Christmas, then called me and hired me to work in Babies and Girls. Sweet memories.

[TaMoDee]

“They sold houses mail order!”
Yup, once you you were aware of the design and look, you can pick the Sears houses out all over rural America.
The materials sent in the kit package were all top of the line.

[tubebender]

Here is some Sears and Wards history for y’all. We had a outhouse until I was 15 and a Wards catalog was the TP of choice over a Sears...

[Rebelbase]

In the late 80’s I used to live one block from a Sears regional distribution center. The building was massive with four or five stories covering several acres of ground and additional acres of parking for the constant streams of trailer trucks coming and going.

Years from now they’ll be an example in business textbooks about failure to adapt to changing technology.

[minnesota_bound]

Sears catalogs - Look at the 1977 catalog. Many early video games. Compare to the 1937 catalog.
http://www.wishbookweb.com/the-catalogs

Radio Shack catalogs
http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/catalog_directory.html

[plymaniac]

Don’t forget Kees!

[Lean-Right]

“bolling ball”
Not really picking on you, but I’ve
never seen one of these;).
Yes, it’s a shame Sears couldn’t
keep up. Years ago, one could buy
everything from a gun, to a boat.
And almost all items were American
made. The death of another Icon.

[faithhopecharity]

greed! a few really bAD or incompetent people in management posts can destroy a economic giant organization

[moovova]

There are a few Sears homes in the old money section of town. Probably couldn’t touch them for less than $750k!

[wally_bert]

I was in the land of temptation - Harbor Freight yesterday looking at these:

https://www.harborfreight.com/46-in-Mobile-Storage-Cabinet-with-Wood-Top-64012.html

https://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage/tool-carts/30-in-5-drawer-mechanics-cart-blue-64031.html

For me here in the suburbs, they would do nicely in my garage.

While I was looking at those, I was talking to guy beside me and he’d bought three of the blue one for his guys at whatever shop he runs. Spoke very high of them.

I have a side room of bins full of tools and misc stuff I need to sort through from the big move in winter last year.

[Charles Martel]

I like the mechanic's cart. A machine shop I've been to has five or six of those all labeled for specific jobs, usually engine rebuilds. That's how they keep the replacement parts and brand-specific tools in their proper places.

I've had a coupon in my wallet for the big 12-drawer chest, but I think I'll get a better deal if I hold out 'til July 4th.

[wally_bert]

I’m looking at getting at least the flat top on payday this week.

At the old house I never could use anything along those lines. A sort of tiny basement with only steps and a carport with no garage door killed those ideas.

At the new pad I at least I have a garage that is still being sorted. It’s half usable for my wife’s car.

There is plenty of space for those two units. Get at least the flat top in and I will finally see about getting at the worn out Willy’s jeep steering box.

Eventually the Willys will come over. It sits at the old house.

I’m not worried about it being stolen. It isn’t roadworthy, has a couple of tricks to starting, no battery sitting around, and dry rotten tires. I crank it on Saturdays.

[Charles Martel]

One thing I hope HF copies is a Kobalt wall cabinet that Lowes had last year - I would've bought one had I known it was a limited-availability thing. It was a 24" x 30" unit divided into cubbies for rechargeable power tools - side panels were also perforated like pegboard for additional storage and airflow (it had an outlet strip built in up on top to organize all the power pool chargers). Neat idea.

BTW, you might enjoy the YouTube channel of "Alabama Explorer"; he has an old Willys truck (I believe it was used by a logging company) that he dragged out of the woods and is trying to revive.

[wally_bert]

I gave into temptation and bought a 46 in. Mobile Storage Cabinet with Wood Top today.

There is a big sale going on and the price was knocked down $50.

I went by there on the way home to check on how many they had. The plan was to get one tomorrow when I could bring the trailer to carry it.

They were down to three. I paid for it and will pick up tomorrow. I have my receipt and a manager type took a copy and tacked it on to the box.

[dfwgator]

Companies come, companies go.....Adapt or die!